Everything Has a Price
by supersmashkingdomhearts9902
Summary: Melody lives with her abusive dad Gaston & mom Vanessa. When her boyfriend Jim wants to run away with her, Melody finds herself almost trapped in Corona. Meg, Herc, Jas, and Al live on the streets while they live a life of poverty. Herc wants to run away with Meg, but what happens when her past catches up with her? Also Flynn and Rapunzel struggle as the rulers of Corona. (HIATUS)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everyone! So I've been very idea deprived, and I have been slacking on my writing a lot recently. This idea came out of the blue, and I hope you guys like it. Reviews are not only appreciated but they help me a lot in the sense of 'you're not the only one reading your own story'. Constructive criticism is welcomed, just please there's no need to be a jerk about it. I always try my best when it comes to my writing, nothing more and certainly nothing less than my best! Oh and I almost forgot, thank you for taking the time to read my story: it means a ton! Enjoy chapter 1…**

Rapunzel's eyes popped open, and she smiled at the sight of the sunlight peering through the curtains. She felt so petite and small in their bed, and she couldn't believe so much had happened over night. Rapunzel looked to her side and there was, sleeping ever so calmly and peacefully. She snuggled up against him, placing her head on top of his arm.

"Eugene," she called out in a rather timid voice "are you awake yet?"

"What?" Eugene questioned in a rather half-asleep tone, as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He let out a tired yawn as he opened his eyes, and smiled at his wife.

"I asked if you were awake yet. Something tells me that the answers yes," she said as she giggled a little at her own question. She then turned on her side to face him, and simply grinned with a bright glimmer in his eyes.

"You look beautiful Rapunzel. But then again in my eyes you always look beautiful. In fact I'm the luckiest man alive to have you," Eugene whispered as he placed a soft, kiss on her forehead. Rapunzel nearly blushed at this but somehow she held it back.

"You're just saying that," Rapunzel replied as she looked down at her feet. She truly was self-conscious of her appearance and Eugene never understood why. She was always so positive but at the same time she never had anything positive to say about herself. Almost as if Rapunzel found beauty in almost everything but herself. While Eugene, found beauty in nothing but the girl of his dreams.

"I'm not just saying that. I honestly mean each and every compliment I tell you. You're perfect," he told her as he wrapped his arms around her waist. This time Rapunzel did blush at the sudden contact, she was so inexperienced at all this 'love-making'.

"Well it's an honor being Mrs. Fitzherbert," she commented as tried to stop blushing for at least a moment.

"Don't you mean, Mrs. Rider?" Eugene questioned with a raised eyebrow look. He brought her body a bit closer, it was almost impossible for him not to think about what had happened the previous night. He couldn't believe he had actually had a wedding night, considering a few months ago he didn't believe in marriage.

"Not in this life time I don't. Besides I prefer being Mrs. Fitzherbert over Mrs. Rider any day. I thought we made that clear yesterday. The priest pronounced us Mr. and Mrs. Fitzherbert," she reminded him with a confident smirk.

"Of course he did blondie. Of course he did," he chuckled in response making Rapunzel playfully shake his head.

"Anyways we need to get up soon. In a few days we'll be rulers of the kingdom. Doesn't it sound so exciting? I mean we'll be able to meet other royals, and I'll be able to wear those really pretty dresses that mother had made for me. I'll also be able to wear all sorts of jewelry, and best of all we'll be invited to all kinds of balls!" Rapunzel exclaimed in a peppy tone, she was so excited to be a princess. But she was so unaware of the responsibility of being a royal.

"Yeah that all sounds magical, but that's not the only perk it has to it. We'll be able to roam the kingdom whenever we please, we'll have our own castle. You know I've always wanted my own castle," Eugene explained as Rapunzel nodded excitedly.

"I know! And you'll finally be able to have all that. But we won't get anything if we don't get out of bed silly. Now come on," she insisted as she tried to get out of bed. To her surprise however, Eugene quickly pulled her back.

"If you leave this room, how do you plan on ever becoming a good ruler?" He questioned with a cocky, almost suggestive smirk on his face.

"What do you mean?" Rapunzel innocently asked. She looked up to him with her wide, green eyes and he could see the curiosity that had sparked in her.

"Well we have to make an heir sometime. Why don't we start now?" He suggested as he gave her a seductive wink. Rapunzel felt as her face turned red as a tomato but she simply giggled it off.

"Sorry Eugene maybe later? But right now I want to explore the castle. There are so many rooms to explore, and so many things to do. I think I'll check out the library today," Rapunzel told him as she walked over to her wardrobe. She quickly opened it and stared in awe at all the pretty dresses. To be honest she was more surprised by the variety.

"Oh my goodness, I can't believe how many dresses I have! I think it'll take me a whole year to wear all these!" Rapunzel allowed a bright smile to appear on her face as she eyed the dresses. She placed her hands over the silky fabric in disbelief, never once did she believe she could be this rich…or happy! She had a feeling this whole 'royal' life was going to be a piece of cake.

* * *

"I'm just saying how do they know, it's their daughter? How do we know that it's not some stranger who's impersonating the princess? I mean haven't you seen the mural in the middle of town? The princess was born a blonde," Melody sighed as she played hopscotch with her friends.

"Well it is rather odd, but the princess seems sincere enough. Besides, from what I've heard some horrible witch kidnapped her. She was held captive for eighteen years, and now she's back as the rightful heir of the throne," Jane Darling explained as she sat down on the floor. She enjoyed the shade that the roof of her house provided.

"You make her sound so heroic. I'm sure her prince charming did some of the heavy work as well," Alice Kingsley commented as she too stopped playing. She then sat down beside her friend, before letting out a sad sigh.

"There are no Prince Charming's in this world," Melody muttered as she too gave up on playing. She sat down between Alice and Jane, wiping the sweat from her forehead. It was a rather sunny day, and the humidity was higher than high.

"I wouldn't say that Melody. Out of all people I thought you'd believe in the notion of true love. It's the sweetest magic out there," Jane sighed dreamily before quickly adding "How is that Jim of yours?"

Melody blushed at the mention of her boyfriend's name, "Jim is fine. How come, why do you ask? I mean we didn't speak at all yesterday because my parents didn't let me out of the house. But he's been fine lately."

"Didn't you say him and his mother were constantly fighting? In fact just the other day you were saying you hated keeping the relationship a secret. And also how you doubt his mother would mind you two being together. Or am I mistaken?" Alice questioned in a tone which spelled out 'rhetorical'. She gave her friend a look that matched her words, which simply made Melody roll her eyes.

"Well it's the truth! His mother thinks I'm a nice girl, and if worse comes to worst she'd at least see how I'm a good influence on him. I don't ever steal food like some of the local children, I get straight A's, and on top of that I come from a decent household. What more could she ask for?" Melody shrugged almost as if she had been preparing for the day Miss. Hawkins asks why they should be together. After all most of Melody's facts were true, except one little lie.

"As long as you don't let it go to your head," Jane joked in a sarcastic tone. Alice laughed at the girls' sarcasm, but quickly placed her hand over her mouth when she realized how upset Melody looked.

"Thank you girls, I knew I could come to you for anything. Thank you so much," she joked as she picked herself up from the ground.

Jane laughed a bit before asking "And where are you going now?"

"Home of course, you know the place where I live. My mother's probably wondering why I've been gone so long. Remember I sneaked out of the house this time," Melody reminded her friends. However she decided to leave out the minor detail of how her mother was the one who told her to flee the scene.

"Ah right I almost forgot!" Alice exclaimed as she snapped her fingers in realization. She then rested her head on Jane's shoulder before letting out an exhausted sigh.

"I don't think so Miss. Kingsley!" Jane started as she quickly picked herself up from the ground, placing her hands on her hips as she looked down at Alice with a grin on her face. "You and I are going to walk Melody home. Now come on?" she put her hand out for Alice, who simply sighed in defeat.

Alice grabbed ahold of her friend's hand, and used it to pick herself off from the ground. Alice had fair skin, with thick shoulder-length blonde hair, and sky blue eyes. She had black ribbon in her hair with a bow top centered. She wore light blue dress with a white pinafore apron around her waist. On her feet were black Mary Jane shoes, which she was rather fond of.

"The things I do for you two," Alice muttered as she shook her head. She then made it look as if she was wiping dust or dirt off her dress. Of course Melody and Jane simply rolled their eyes at what their friend was doing.

"Leave it to Alice to be the perfect, proper lady. You're just too much love," Jane spoke in a joking tone which made Melody chuckle.

However both girls knew that Alice was only a lady at certain times, if anything it was a force of habit. Since Alice was always around family she'd have to act like a good girl, but when she was around friends she was much more laid back.

"Oh you girls are just jealous that I can actually survive, if we were to be invited to a ball. You girls wouldn't know a thing about proper etiquette. To be honest with you though, sometimes I wish I didn't know a thing about proper etiquette. It's just so much to remember at times…its pure rubbish," Alice mumbled under her breath as she shook her head. Melody simply smiled at her friends, they truly were quite a team.

Jane Darling had ocean blue eyes, and short dirty blonde hair. She wore a purple sweater, over lavender nightgown, and gray shoes.

"Your right it probably is all rubbish. That being said you know it better than any of us so when the king and queen decided to throw a ball, I'll come get you. Until then it won't be needed," Melody told her as she started heading home. Alice rolled her eyes, but quickly caught up with the girl. Jane also did the same, but this only made matters worse.

"What are you doing?" Melody questioned, placing a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. Today like most day she had her long, black hair tied in a ponytail by a green, rubber band. Melody had fair skin, baby blue eyes, and rosy pink lips. She wore white, pantalets with a matching white, camisole.

"Didn't you hear me before Melody? We're walking you home, this way we can spend more time together. I mean honestly who knows the next you'll be able to see us? You're always getting in trouble with your parents. We should just enjoy this time while we can," Jane explained and Alice simply sighed at her friends words.

"As much as I hate to say it…I agree with her. You're always getting in trouble and you always end up getting grounded. And why do you end up getting grounded? Well that's because you always have to sneak out to come see us. So she has a point," she told Melody as she readjusted the bow in her blonde hair.

"Listen I promise you two that we'll see each tomorrow. In the meantime I need to go home on my own. I don't want to risk getting caught. I understand that we hardly get to see each other but things will change soon. I mean, how can they not? Things are always changing," Melody told them before pulling her friends into a group hug. She hated having to lie to them but she knew very well how bad her secret was, she could never tell. How could she?

"Take care Melody, and please do not waste any more time. Oh and whatever you do please try to come back more often. It's no fun staying here with _her_," Alice teased before pulling away from the hug. Jane simply gave Alice a look before hugging Melody one more time.

"I'll see you soon love. Now head on home before something bad happens. And don't stop to talk to Jim. You've already wasted enough time as it is. Now go fast," Jane ordered her and Melody simply gave her a curt nod.

"Goodbye girls, see you all tomorrow!" she called out to her friends before racing down the streets of the kingdom. She knew she should've been home about an hour ago, and now Melody was afraid that her mother was in grave danger.

* * *

"Thief, get back! Guards get her now! She's getting away!" The baker yelled after Megara but she paid him no mind. She already got enough food for the four of them, and to her that's all that mattered.

"_Oh good god Jasmine, please tell me you got away? Scratch that! Don't steal anything just please tell me you're safe! Come on Jas,"_ she thought to herself as she continued to pick up her pace. Meg continued on running as fast as her legs could take her. She could no longer hear the baker and there was no sound of guards chasing her. Comfort was an understatement for what she felt.

After what felt like hours and hours of running, she soon arrived at the hideout. Megara dashed up the ladder, and let out a sigh of relief once she was safe. She fell to her knees, and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Meg placed her potato sack in front of her and then emptied the bag. She watched as four loafs of bread, six apples, a pair of bananas and finally grapes.

"Wow Meg you really put me to shame. I have to applaud you though," Jasmine called out to her stepsister as she stepped out of the shadows. Meg looked up at her stepsister, and gave her a cocky smirk.

"Hey, the important thing is that you're safe. I can get away from the guards- no problem. You on the other hand aren't the fastest runner, or the slickest with words. In a few years you'll be ready," she told her as Jasmine kneeled down next to Meg.

"Yeah, well in the meantime I was able to take this" Jasmine sighed, allowing an apple to fall out of her sleeve. She then walked over to the coat hanger, and took off the cloak she used to steal food.

Meg picked up the ruby red fruit and took a bite out of it, "Hey don't beat yourself up about it Jas. I promise you that in a few years you'll be better than me at this stealing stuff."

"That's not why I'm upset. Believe me Meg I know I'll get better in a few months' time. I mean you say years' time but I couldn't disagree with you more. I have something else to be upset about. Actually _we_ all have something to be upset about," Jasmine sighed as she shook her head sadly.

Before Meg could ask her stepsister what was bothering her, the sound of people coming up the ladder was heard. Both girls turned around to see their boyfriends coming inside the hideout, both of them holding bags filled with food.

"Aladdin, you're back! I was so worried you were going to get caught, but you're okay!" Jasmine cheered as she ran up to her boyfriend, and pulled him into a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck, while he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"It's okay Jasmine. I promised you that I would come back, and you know I'd never break a promise to you. I'm not going anywhere, not any time soon that is. I'd never leave you," Aladdin reassured her. Jasmine's smile almost fell but she quickly kept it plastered to her face before pulling him into a gentle kiss.

"Hercules, come over here. It's important," Meg whispered as if it was something secretive. In that Hercules did as he was told, gently walking up to her.

"What did you want-" He was soon cut off by the touch of her lips against his. He did the same as Aladdin by wrapping his arms around her thin waist, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss was a bit rougher but Meg quickly cut it off, this was no time to get too close.

"Oh nothing, I just wanted to show you that I missed you. Now you know," Meg blew him a kiss before taking the bag of food from Hercules' hand.

She then walked over to Aladdin, and quickly snatched the bag "I'll take that if you don't mind."

"So, how much did you steal from the market?" Aladdin questioned as he watched Meg walk over to the supply of food she had brought. Meg kneeled down next to the food she had stolen, and emptied both bags. Soon there was enough food that would at least last them a few days.

She stood up and looked over her family with a bright smile, "We did good guys! We did really good this time, let's pray next time we don't have to steal."

"Not likely," Jasmine muttered under her breath but no one paid much mind to her comment.

"Anyways I'm going to go take a nap for now. I'm exhausted from all the running and I feel like I'm going to knock out any minute. I'll see you all when I wake up," Meg waved to them before heading up the stairs.

"_I suppose we'll talk later then,"_ Jasmine though to herself bitterly. She really wanted to tell her stepsister what was bugging her. She even considering going upstairs and talking to her, but Meg needed the rest.

"I think I'm going to head off for a nap as well. See the both of you soon," Hercules told them before quickly dashing up the staircase. When in reality he had _other_ intentions, and activities planned.

Aladdin chuckled at what Hercules had just done, "We should probably give them some privacy. I suggest we head into town and find something to do."

"Won't we get caught by the local guards? I mean no one saw me taking the food but I'm sure they noticed you guys?" She asked as she took a few bites out of the apple.

"Actually no one saw either of us. While Hercules bargained with the man, I stole the food. Then we moved on to another cart, I bargained with the man while he stole the food. In the end we didn't buy anything, we simply stole our food. So no, we won't get in trouble" he explained but this only made Jasmine frown. She crossed her arms and shook her head in disgust.

"That's awful!" Jasmine shouted before quickly racing out of the hideout, with tears in her eyes.

"Jasmine, I'm sorry! What did I say? I don't understand. Jasmine, come back here please" He called after her as he rapidly dashed down the ladder. He continued to chase her into town, hoping he'd eventually find her.

**A/N: Hi you guys, so I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 1. Obviously there are a few questions standing in just chapter 1, and I promise they'll be answered in chapter 2. As I said before reviews are highly appreciated, and best of all they put a smile on my face. Plus I love getting feedback from you guys! Also constructive criticism is welcomed, just please there's no need to be rude. Thank you for reading guys, until next chapter….**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi everyone, I just want to apologize for the delay. I started school a week ago, and I needed to start getting back into the swing of things. I want to give a big shout out to Sher Heartilly, dani2015, Suzerenma, Avril Lambert, Asuka Farron and my best friend disney-fr3ak for reviewing. Thanks a lot you guys, the positive reviews mean a lot! And to all my readers, thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I want to thank all of you guys: readers or reviewers, you all make my day! Enjoy chapter 2…**

Melody hopped in through her window, and let out a deep breath when her body hit the bed. She had run so fast, she wasn't even sure how she had gotten home so quickly. She stood up on her knees, and fixed her ponytail. She then placed a few loose strands behind her ear before letting out a sigh of relief.

She then got out of bed, and allowed her feet to touch the floor of her room. Melody quietly walked up to her bedroom door, and she was almost afraid to touch the knob. She placed her ear against the door, and nothing at all was heard. Melody took comfort in this by opening the door, and running into the kitchen.

"Melody, is that you dear? You're home late," Vanessa called out to her daughter as she tried picking herself up from the ground. The brunette's left eye was swollen, and her bottom lip was all bloody. She was aching in pain and could barely move from the ground.

Most children would've paniced at the sight of their mother in such a state, and condition. However Melody knew this scene all too well, she knew exactly what caused this horror. She noticed how her mother was wearing nothing but red lingerie.

"Oh mother what on Earth happened _this _time? I understand that father beat you again but why? I thought I left the house so you could do things in private, without having me over hear?" she questioned as she kneeled down at make eye contact with her mother.

"That's what happened but things took a turn for the worse not too long after. We took care of business four times, he wanted to keep on going. I refused because I was getting rather sore and my body needed rest. But he wanted to make sure it worked this time. I made the foolish mistake of refusing," Vanessa explained as she placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. She then picked herself up by pushing Melody down a bit.

Once Vanessa had regained her balance a bit, she smiled at her daughter. It was of course a faint smile but it was a smile nonetheless. Melody knew that her mother was trying to give her that false sense of security and comfort. Of course it didn't work, it never did but she knew that Vanessa liked to pretend it did.

"Why don't you go change while I start peeling the potatoes? I have a feeling we're going to make soup for supper, correct?" she inquired and her mother simply nodded at the question. She then watched as Vanessa ran to her room, and so Melody grabbed a bag of potatoes. She then grabbed a chair and a pot. She sat over the pot while she peeled the potatoes carefully.

"_It's okay mother someday things will be better. Someday you'll be able to build up the courage, to leave father. I know you think we can't support each other on our own, but we can mom. We honestly can, and hopefully we will."_ Melody thought to herself as tears began to form in her eyes.

* * *

Jasmine kept on running until she found herself too exhausted to run anymore. However that didn't stop her one bit from continuing. She hid inside an alley, and ran deeper in it until she felt like she had lost Aladdin.

"I just need a moment to myself," she whispered as she leaned up against a well. She gently threw her head back, allowing her hair to touch the beige stone wall. She gently slid down until she was in the fetal position. As Jasmine hugged her legs in front of her chest she tried to choke back tears.

"Now, what is a pretty girl like you doing in an alley like this? You shouldn't be all alone especially in a dark alley," A man's voice called out from the darkness. The young girl simply ignored the comment, and rolled her eyes in disdain.

"Leave me alone! I'm in no mood to talk about anything," she told the stranger bitterly as she shook her head. She clenched her fists and softly started rocking back and forth. Jasmine was so exhausted from running that, she didn't have the energy to leave while she could.

"Well I'm sorry when I see a crying girl, the first thing I do is try to strike up a conversation. Obviously you're not the talkative type but that's alright. I'm not one for small talk either, but I wouldn't mind getting to know you better?" The man suggested as he took a single step out of the darkness.

"Listen buddy, I'm in no mood for tricks! Now come out of the shadows, and expose yourself to me. Or get out of my face!" Jasmine growled as she crossed her arms, and looked away for a moment. She tried not to scream so loud because she didn't want Aladdin to find her so easily.

"Alright, alright already there's no need to get feisty. I have to admit though that is a wonderful trait in a woman. Now will you please be kind enough to share your name?" The man questioned as he came out of the shadows. The first thing that caught Jasmine's attention was his gorgeous, baby blue eyes.

Jasmine had long black hair, wide brown eyes, and fairly tan skin. She wore large gold earrings, blue colored flat shoes. She also wore matching blue, baggy belly dancer pants with a matching top that revealed her navel.

"Jasmine Abdel-Hakim, but my friends call me Jasmine. Now that I've told you my name, I think it's your turn?" she questioned with a faint smile. She wasn't able to take her eyes off of his crystal blue ones; she found them to be hypnotic.

"My name is John Smith. It's nice to meet you Jasmine. I want to apologize because it seems as if we got off on the wrong foot," he apologized as he placed his hand out for her to shake. Jasmine picked herself up and shook his hand politely, staring deep into his eyes.

John Smith was rather muscular for he had a well-built physique. He had sunshine blond hair, and astonishing blue eyes. He wore brown pants, with a blue navy colored vest.

"That's alright, I was being rude and you were simply being friendly. It was my fault completely, to be honest with you. I was getting angry at the wrong person. I must look and sound like a child right now," she apologized as she looked down at her feet. She felt as her cheeks turned a hot red, making her bite her lip in shame.

"It's alright Jasmine, I know more than anyone that we all have our moments. When you get angry at someone, your emotions usually get the best of you. Believe me I grew up with two sisters. I know more than anyone," he chuckled as he approached her carefully. He studied the girl for a moment, and decided he was fond of her beauty.

Jasmine giggled a bit at his answer, "Well then I suppose I should be on my way. My boyfriend is probably worried sick about me, and I let my emotions get the best of me."

John fought back a frown when he heard the word 'boyfriend'. He then mentally scolded himself for not assuming someone like Jasmine, was taken. After all someone as beautiful as her, would've easily been swept off her feet by the first genuine guy that came along.

"I see- well I too better be on my way. I promised my sisters that I'd meet them by the market place. We're going food shopping today, and I wouldn't want to keep them waiting. They are both rather impatient," he sighed as he started making his way out of the alley.

"It was nice meeting you!" She called out as she waved goodbye, before turning in the opposite direction. She ran deeper into the alley until she was finally out, and she nearly screamed when she felt someone grab her arm and then pull her back in.

Jasmine felt her body begin to tremble, but felt relieved when she realized it was Aladdin who had pulled her in. Her features began to soften but a knot formed in her stomach when she saw how angry he looked. She noticed how his eyes were narrowed, and his brow furrowed.

"Jasmine, what on Earth were you thinking? You can't just run off like that, you can't just ditch me out of the blue. You had me worried sick because you had left crying, and then I started panicking when I couldn't find you. Jasmine, do you realize how reckless that was?" Aladdin shouted as he shook his head. He had been so concerned about her, and so confused as to why she was crying.

"I'm sorry Aladdin, you're right I shouldn't have acted the way I did. And I shouldn't have done what I did, next time I'll just stay. I'm sorry that I upset you," she apologized in a rather bored tone. She leaned up against the wall, and allowed her body to slowly slide down. Soon she was sitting on the ground with a saddened expression.

Aladdin sighed as he sat down beside her. He placed his hand on top of hers, and gave her a faint smile. He gently squeezed her hand, and noticed how tears started forming in her eyes. Without any hesitation she wrapped her arms around his neck, and sobbed into his purple vest.

"Aladdin I don't like what we have to do just to survive. I don't like being poor, I don't like stealing, and I most certainly don't enjoy being looked down upon in society. I wish we could just be like normal people and get jobs," she cried as she quietly sobbed into his clothes.

Aladdin Taylor had messy black hair, light brown eyes, and rather light tanned skin. He was slightly muscular, and had abs. He wore a purple vest, with white trousers with light brown patch sewn onto it, and atop his head he wore a crimson colored fez hat.

"I know Jasmine, and I know exactly where you're coming from. But you know that many jobs aren't available at the moment. And besides Hercules and I don't have time for jobs, we got to keep an eye out for Meg and you. Also no, I'm not saying that you girls aren't capable of taking care of yourselves. I'm just saying that you girls are a lot safer with us around," he told her almost as if he could already picture her counter argument.

She crossed her arms in disappointment for she knew very well, that he was right. However she also knew the other reason both of them couldn't get jobs. Jasmine knew that Aladdin didn't tell her that the economy hasn't been the best in Corona, because that reason only makes sound matter worse.

"You know, I have high hopes for the new princess and prince. All these years, the King and Queen have been depressed because they lost their daughter. That's why the kingdom hasn't been as good as it used to be. But now she's back, and hopefully things can go back to normal. Perhaps we could even start shopping?" She suggested as she beamed at the thought.

Aladdin gave her a bright smile as he stood up, "Hopefully the princess and her prince will make things better. And shopping for food instead of stealing sounds like a dream, let's hope it eventually comes true."

"It does sound lovely, doesn't it? And it will become a reality; I have no doubt about that!" Jasmine cheered as she took his hand, and picked herself up. Once she was up she quickly followed him out of the alley, and back into the center of Town.

"Come on Jasmine let's head home," he sighed as he grabbed her hand and headed towards the hideout. They carefully made their way down the streets, making sure not to make too much eye contact with the guards.

* * *

Rapunzel felt as the tip of her fingers touched the binding of the books, and her eyes scanned them all. She was in the castle library, catching up on a bunch of reading. She loved all the different novels that the one room contained, but she could never decide on which one to read and when to read it.

"Which one do you like Pascal?" She asked the small chameleon who was resting on her shoulder. She looked around the room, and gasped in awe at how the whole entire room was just made up of shelves which were filled with novels.

The brunette looked down at her friend, and he simply shrugged at all the choices. She looked back up at the shelves, and found herself puzzled. She read all the different titles, but remembered how her momma had told her not to judge a book by its cover. Rapunzel picked out a red colored book, which was tilted '_Into the Woods'_.

"Sounds interesting enough," she thought aloud as she walked over to the purple cushioned loveseat. She opened the book, and cleared her throat before she started reading.

"Once upon a time, in a far off kingdom lived a fair maiden, a sad young lad, and a childless baker with his wife. And the-"Rapunzel stopped mid sentence by the sound of someone knocking. She closed the novel, and looked over at the door with a content smile on her face.

"What are you reading there blondie?" Eugene questioned as he walked over to her. He picked up her legs, and sat under them. He then placed her legs on his lap, making her a giggle for some odd reason.

"I was trying to read this wonderful book called _Into the Woods_, but then you decided to interrupt me. But that's okay Eugene because I felt kind of guilty reading this book," she confessed innocently. She got back up and placed the book back, and sat back down looking ashamed.

"Guilty? Blondie it's just a book, there's no reason for you to feel shameful. Why are you guilty again?" He inquired not really understanding his wife's sudden shame for simply trying to read a story.

Rapunzel sighed and explained, "I just feel like I'm being really wasteful and almost ungrateful. I mean there are so many books in the library, and I can't even make up my mind to pick one. Back in the tower I only had three books, and I read and finished those books all in the same day. Same things go with the dresses. In the tower I only had one dress, and I wore it every single day. Now I have more than I can count, and I don't know how on Earth I'm going to put all of them to use."

He chuckled as he placed his hand on top of hers, "Blondie that's why we have balls and celebrations for. Now that you've returned home, we're going to bring much joy to the kingdom. I promise you that we'll throw a celebration every week just so you could try on a new dress."

Rapunzel's face suddenly lit up like the evening star, "Oh do you really mean that? Oh Eugene that would be amazing! That way none of my dresses would go to waste, and I'd be able to decide which one were my favorites. Thank you so much Eugene!"

She wrapped her arms around her neck, and he chuckled at her sudden action. She had caught him off guard, but almost out of instinct he had wrapped his arms around her waist. Rapunzel giggled as she felt Pascal slide off her arm, and quickly scurry out of the room. Once she saw how her friend was gone, she too let go of her husband and got up from the loveseat.

"And where are you going now?" Eugene questioned as he followed her out of the room.

"I'm going to go meet momma in her garden. She said we were going to have lunch there, and besides I really want to have some bonding time. I'll catch up with you later, okay?" she suggested and he simply nodded at her question.

"See you later blondie, I hope you have fun bonding with your mom. Good luck," he told her and she simply nodded. Rapunzel placed a quick kiss on his lips, and then she found herself racing down the hallway.

"I love you…" he whispered as he turned in the opposite direction, and headed towards his bedroom. He wanted to go look at Corona from his balcony. He truly did enjoy the view from their bedroom.

* * *

"That was amazing," Hercules whispered as he fell on his back. His face was red as a tomato, and he was sweating as if he had been exercising for hours.

Meg found herself blushing, before she replied "I have to tell you Herc, making love to you is something else."

He gave her a cocky smile before placing a gentle kiss on her lips. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and wished that he could see her bare body. However Meg had quickly covered herself with the sheets.

"You know, they'll probably be back soon. We're both sweaty and red so I think I'm going to go take a shower," Meg told him as she tried escaping from his tight grasp.

He gave her a look and he simply replied in a sing-song voice, "What are the magic words?"

"I love you," she replied with a smile before placing a delicate kiss on his lips. She felt as he let go, and so she immediately jumped out of bed. She walked over to her wardrobe, and grabbed a bath robe which she had stolen from the market place.

Megara Egan was very petite with angular features. She had fair skin, voluminous long brownish-red hair, and remarkable purple eyes. The type of eyes that once you see, you can't forget because of how unique the color is.

Hercules on the other hand was extremely muscular; he had large biceps, and well-built abs. He had fiery red hair, sky blue eyes, and light tan skin. He wore shiny gold armor, with brown sandals, and a red headband around his forehead. Of course all of his clothes had been stolen from the market place, but luckily for him it not only fit but suited him nicely.

"Don't waste all the hot water Meg. The last thing I want to do is go retrieve more from the well. It isn't exactly the shortest of walks from here to the well," he reminded her as he let out a tired yawn. He rested his head on the pillow, and suddenly found himself to be rather tired.

"Why don't you just get water from the fountain?" Meg called out as she placed her hand on the handle of the bathroom door. She turned it, and gently pushed the door open easily.

"Because then Jasmine and you complain how the water is too cold. Believe me it's better to just use the water from the well, and to not use up all of it at once. I can only fill so many buckets, and we're lucky that we they're pretty big buckets. So use them wisely," he yawned as he twisted and turned in bed.

"Got it, don't worry about me!" She called back as she picked up a bucket of water, and dumped it in the tub. She then grabbed another bucket, and only dumped half of it in the tub. Meg then turned around, closed the door and then made sure to locket it.

She let out a sad sigh as she allowed her robe to simply fall off her shoulders, and then on to the floor. She then dipped one of her toes in the water, and smiled when she felt how warm the water is. Before she knew it, she was sitting in the tub, enjoying her alone time to herself.

"I love them all but I've said it once, and I'll say it again: I need my alone time. It's not like I'm asking for too much now," she mumbled to herself as she rested her had back on the wall. She felt as the warm water soothed her body, almost as if it were taking the weight of the world off her shoulders.

Before she knew it, Meg was so relaxed she found herself falling to sleep. It had started with her just closing her eyes to calm herself, but after a few minutes she had let out a tired yawn. As more timed pass she was soon fast asleep, and suddenly all her worry's and troubles started haunting her dreams. Because no matter how hard she tried, all her troubles were constantly in the back of her head.

* * *

_Megara found herself racing down the path, everything was so foggy and she couldn't see a thing. She was running as fast as her legs could carry her, and she her lungs were actually starting to hurt. _

"_She's coming for me. I just know she's coming for me," she whispered to herself as she continued to dash down the path. She looked on her left but all she saw was fog, and on the right she saw the same thing._

"_Megara please wait! Megara I head a warning, you must listen dear!" The feminine voice cried out but Meg didn't dare stop. She didn't know who was chasing her, or what they wanted but she just knew she had to run,_

"_Leave me alone!" she screamed back as she quickly went of the path, by taking a right, turn. Megara pushed through the fog, expecting it to be thick as a wall but it was soft as a cloud. Since she had put so much force into it, she had actually fallen to the ground._

_Meg looked up and realized she could no longer hear the voice. For a moment she took comfort in this, she didn't like the feeling of being chased. And she had no idea where she was, or what she was doing here. Wherever here may be that is?_

_She picked herself up from the ground, and wiped the dirt off her purple dress. She turned on heel, and felt her jaw drop when she realized where she was. Megara took a few steps back, and felt her body begin to tremble in fear a bit._

"_Cemetery," she breathed as she bit her lower lip. Meg remained frozen for a few minutes, unsure what to do or what to even say for that matter. She had only visited a graveyard once and it had been many, many years ago._

"_I need to get the hell out of here. There's no way I'm staying here! I need to get home, I need to find Jasmine. I need to make sure she's safe," she whispered to herself as she started jogging this time. _

_She was too out of breath to continue running, and she was too scared to just casually walk. So jogging didn't seem like such a bad idea at the moment. Besides Meg allowed a sense of security to come over her since there was no longer someone following her? _

"_Where is home from here?" Meg thought aloud as she looked around curiously. Everything around here just looked like a bunch of tombstones, and in the distance all she could see was fog. It was simply rows and rows of tombstones, which all led towards the foggy unknown._

"_Megara please stop! I can't run anymore, I am too out of breath to chase you. I beg you child, please do not leave me here. Please child, do head my warning?" The feminine voice asked, as it slowly approached Meg._

_She felt her body begin to tense up, and so she turned on heel to face the figure. To her surprise it was no one else but her deceased mother standing there. Meg's jaw dropped once more, and she immediately hugged herself for comfort._

"_Ma' is that really you?" she questioned as tears started forming in her eyes. She could feel her whole body begin to tremble, she wanted to start sobbing right there and then. It had been years since she had seen her mother._

_Megara's mother had messy red hair, emerald green eyes, and rosy pink lips. She wore an olive colored dress with a green blouse, and black bow on the back of her head. _

"_Yes child it is me, now come over here and give your mother a hug. I know how much you've missed me, and I know that it's been far too long. Now hug me before he gets here," Rosemary told her daughter as she opened her arms. Meg quickly ran up to her mother, and wrapped her arms around her mom's neck._

_Rosemary wrapped her arms around Meg's bed and whispered, "It's alright sweetie, I'm right here. No one is going to hurt you, and no one is going to take you from me."_

"_Ma' I've missed you so much. It's been so hard without you, but Jas and I are doing well. I've taken good care of her just like you asked. And I've met this amazing man named Hercules. Ma' I think he may be-" she was cut off by the sound of her mother gasping. Meg suddenly felt a shiver go up her spine, when she felt her mother pull away._

"_Oh my goodness, where is Jasmine?" Rosemary questioned frantically as she eyed the cemetery. She fiddled with her fingers as she searched for her stepdaughter._

_She looked up at Meg, and began to panic "Megara where is your stepsister? It's not safe for her to be out here, all alone with no one watching her. Megara where is she? Tell me where she is, you promised you'd take good care of her!"_

_Meg as well began to grow frantic "Ma' I don't think she came with me. She's at home probably, she's with her boyfriend Aladdin. He protects her and loves her very much, there's nothing to worry about."_

"_No! I didn't ask you to find her a boyfriend to protect her, I asked you to take care of her! You've failed Megara, you have failed your dead mother and for this reason I disown you. Go find another mother's heart to break, because you sure as hell aren't going to break mine!" Rosemary growled as she snapped her fingers, and suddenly a small pond appeared on their right side. The water was dark as night, and seemed very murky._

"_But ma' we've both fallen in love with these wonderful men. Hercules cares for me dearly, and Aladdin treats Jasmine as if she's royalty. They are both so sincere, and treat us like we're princesses even though we have nothing. Ma' you need to understand we're happy," she reason but her mother simply shook her head in disdain._

"_No Megara that is not what I asked of you. I told you to take care of your stepsister! I didn't ask you to go around and play matchmaker, you disgusting brat. And for this you will pay, from here on out I disown you!" Rosemary exclaimed, and suddenly two huge blue hands popped out of the water. They had yellow fingernails, and they nearly made Megara scream in terror._

"_Ma' what the heck, are those things? What do you they want?" Meg questioned as she watched hands grab her mother, and then take her down under the water. She gasped at the sight of her mother suddenly being taken down like that. _

"_Ma' wait come back!" she cried as she approached the pond, and kneeled down on the edge. All she could see was her reflection, and the bright moon behind her. She gently placed her hand in the water, and felt how warm it is._

"_Warm? How the hell can it be warm if it's freezing outside?" Meg thought aloud as she took her hand out. She studied her hand for a moment, and then let out an extremely loud blood curdling scream. She noticed how her hand was completely covered in red, ruby blood._

_Before she could do anything else, a normal sized hand popped out of the water. It clenched on to her wrist, and dug it's extremely sharp and yellow colored fingernails into her delicate scream. Without any hesitation the hand pulled her down under, making everything around Meg go black._

* * *

"Jasmine, you can't leave me!" Meg screamed as she felt herself slipping under the water. She quickly picked herself up, and found herself crashing back into reality.

"It was just a dream? How can that even be? It was all so real. The blood, the screaming, the hands, and the physical and emotional pain… it was real. I know it was," Meg told herself as she sat back down. She first looked at her wrist, and she was thankful to god that there were no marks. She then looked her right hand, and let out a sigh of relief when she realized that there was no blood.

"_And I guess the only reason there was a pond, was because I was taking a bath. I had started drowning in my nightmare, because I had started slipping under water in the tub. There's nothing to worry about,"_ she thought to herself and suddenly she remembered another part of her nightmare. She recalled her mother screaming and shouting at her, she even remembered her mother disowning her.

Meg clenched her fists before talking to herself through gritted teeth, "I haven't done anything wrong. She wanted me to take care of Jas, and so far that's exactly what I've done. It's not my fault that we're both, falling in love."

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Meg nearly fell backwards when she heard the noise, because she was a little jumpy from the previous nightmare. However she quickly caught herself, and jumped out of the bathtub.

Hercules cleared his throat, and then spoke up "Meg is everything okay in there? I thought I heard you screaming, and it woke me up."

"Dammit," she muttered under her breath as she wrapped a towel around her body. She hated looking like a whiny, damsel in distress. She was in no mood to play victim, and on top of that she felt embarrassed because she had caused such a fuss over a little nightmare.

Meg wrapped a towel around her hair, and called out to Hercules "No Herc, everything is fine with me. I heard the scream too, I'm assuming it came from outside. I'm sure it's nothing though."

"Alright if you say so, then I guess we have nothing to worry about. Anyways I wanted to know if you were coming out soon, because I need to take a bath too. Al and Jasmine are probably going to be back soon, and I don't want to make things even more obvious than they already are," he explained as he knocked on the door again. He could hear Meg muttering and mumbling under her breath but decided to ignore it. Hercules had a feeling that the scream hadn't come from outside, but decided to play along because he didn't want to start problems with Meg.

"Done," she told him bluntly as she opened the door. She had her hands on her hips and an annoyed look on her face. Meg made her way out of the bathroom, and into the bathroom. She slammed the door, so confused by what just happened.

"Alright then," he flinched when he heard the door being slammed. Hercules entered the bathroom, gently closing the door behind him.

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Meg muttered as she paced around the room nervously. She fiddled with her fingers as she shook her head at every theory that came to mind.

She let out a sad sigh before sitting down on the edge of the bed, "I miss you ma'…"

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed chapter 2! Again I am so sorry for the delay, it's just that I started school and I needed to get back into the swing of things. Feel free to tell me if you spot any mistakes so I can edit and fix. Also I am always opened to constructive criticism just please don't be rude about it. As far as the line breakers go, I have added them and I'm really hoping they stay. Last time I added the line breakers but when I posted the chapter, they just weren't there and that kind of bugged me. Anyways until next chapter everyone, thanks for reading...**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I want to give a big shout out to justdance11, Avril Lambert, dani2015, Suzerenma and my best friend Demi Brackensick for reviewing! And I also want to give another big shout to my loyal reviewer Avril Lambert, for making me these wonderful cover pictures. I'll be posting different ones randomly, because I can't choose which one is my favorite! I also want to thank all my readers because just to know that you guys actually take the time to read my story puts a smile on my face. I'm sorry for the big delay, this whole week I've just been bombared with homework and so it was kind of hard to find time to write through all the mess. So I'm really sorry guys, I hope you all can forgive me. Enjoy chapter 3, all of you guys…**

"Mother would you like me to go wake up father? Dinner will be ready any minute, and he gets mad at us when he's not woken up the minute dinner is ready. But then again he gets angry at us when we wake him too early as well. So what shall I do?" Melody asked as she looked down at her feet, not daring to look at her mother in the eyes. She was too afraid to look at her mother's face because she didn't want to see the bruises, or the black eye. Melody just didn't want to see at all.

Vanessa was standing over the soup she had just cooked, and frowned a bit at her daughter's question "No dear don't worry about your father. I'll deal with him. Why don't you just go set the dinner table for us?"

Melody clenched her fists, and her eyes were locked on the bedroom door "Mother I'm not just going to stand here, acting clueless. I know what's going to happen when you open that door. And I can't stand it, I'm tired of having to deal with-"

"Enough!" Vanessa growled as she tried to hide the tears which were forming in her eyes. She longed for the days were her little girl was clueless. She missed the days when all she had to say is that she got a 'boo-boo' and that was that.

"But mother why don't we just run away? Why don't we just leave this life? Just because he is my father that doesn't mean I have to care or even love him. I don't love him, and I know you don't. So why do we even bother living in this…this…hell!" Melody argued back as she felt tears begin to roll down her cheeks.

"I don't want to hear another word Melody! We will never be able to make it on our own, ever! So, I suggest you get all those ludicrous thoughts out of your head because all you are going to get is disappointment. If it weren't for your father we'd be living on the streets. Now is that what you want?" She questioned rhetorically with her hands on her hips.

Melody looked down at her feet before letting out a sigh in defeat "No."

"I didn't think so. Now if you'll excuse me I have to wake up your father. I suggest you go set up the dinner table like a good, little girl. Things may be hard to deal with but once we have a son in the house, your father will surely soften up. Now go do as your told," she told her daughter before quietly making her way over to the door. She twisted the golden door knob, praying that Gaston would get up without a problem.

"Someday I won't have to put up with his abuse. Or yours," she whispered to herself as she made her way towards the dining room. Melody grabbed the silverware, and the fine china from the pantry.

* * *

Vanessa closed the door the bedroom door as she entered the room. Her eyes roamed around the room for a second but immediately landed on her husband. She studied him for just a minute in order to take it all in. The first thing she noticed were his bulging biceps, the next thing she noticed was his well-built physique, and finally his extremely handsome features.

"So handsome and yet you're rotten to the core on," Vanessa murmured as she approached the bed. She noticed how he laid naked under the bed sheets, he breathed ever so quietly in his sleep. She knew that he was a heavy sleeper but she always had the force of habit to be as silent as possible. When she was a young girl, she was usually in charge of waking her father up in the morning.

Gaston was extremely muscular, and he was rather hairy-chested. He had raven black colored hair which he usually kept in a ponytail. Except when he slept, for when he slept he just let it hang down to his neck. Gaston had baby blue eyes, and was double-chinned. As far as appearances went he was extraordinarily handsome, but on the inside he was as frigid as ice.

"Gaston you need to get up. Dinner is ready and Melody has already set the table," she said as she placed her hand on his buff shoulder. Vanessa fought back a shiver when his eyes opened up, and came into direct contact with hers.

He let out a tired yawn as he suddenly sat up, "And what the hell did you make for dinner?"

"I made a soup which has beef, potatoes, carrots, and corn in it. I think you'll like it because I took my time making it, and-" Vanessa was cut off when she felt him place a sloppy kiss on her lips. Before she had time to push away he had already wrapped his arm around her waist. Vanessa wanted to fight back but she nearly winced in pain, when he forcefully threw her on the mattress.

Gaston mounted on top of her as he eyed her body lustfully, "You look good enough to eat. You keep on failing me but don't worry, this time we're going to make sure we conceive a baby. And not just any baby, a boy. In other words the son I've always wanted, and yet I'm never able to have."

She used all the force she had in order to push him off, "For god's sake Gaston! Our daughter is probably waiting for me outside that door, and the last thing she needs to hear is us trying to conceive another child. You may not be happy with having a daughter but I for one couldn't be happier!"

Vanessa was about to jump off the bed but was suddenly taken off guard. She turned pale as a ghost when she felt Gaston grip on to her wrist. He vigorously dug his nails into her delicate skin, making sure he left marks. However she merely bit down on her bottom lip to make sure she didn't scream, after all she had dealt with much worse from him. He forced her back down on to the mattress, and got on top of her.

"Shut the hell up Vanessa. I swear if you deny me again I will kill you. Vanessa the problem with you is that you think I've done my worse with you, when in reality I haven't done anything. You haven't discovered what true pain is," he whispered through gritted teeth before claiming her lips in another disgusting kiss.

Without any hesitation he undid her corset, making her dress open up. Gaston then continued to pull her dress down to her ankles, leaving her in her underwear.

Vanessa let out a small gasp as she forced their lips to part, she then whispered "Gaston please don't do this to me? At least let me tell Melody to go, and play with her friends. She doesn't need to hear us doing this. I'm her mother, and you're her father! This is something most couples do in private."

"Well good thing we aren't most couples. Besides someday soon she'll have to do exactly what you're doing. Someday she'll have to serve her husband, and hopefully she'll be able to do a better job than you do. If she's lucky she'll actually be able to give her husband the son he deserves," Gaston told her with an angered expression on his face. There seemed to be a certain flame in his eyes that just spelled enraged. This only made Vanessa slightly tremble as he shifted all his body weight on to her.

She looked down, and realized that he had been nude the whole time. Of course she had noticed this when she entered the room from their previous session of intercourse. However it hadn't really hit her until now. Vanessa looked to her side, and saw all his clothes on the floor while her dress still remained around her ankles.

"Are you ready to feel a real man inside of you? Are you prepared for me to make love to you once more?" Gaston inquired in a husky tone, his eyes captivated with pure want. He eyed her nude body carefully as lewd thoughts roamed his mind.

She knew better than to not answer. If she didn't answer then he'd surely strike her across the face since he had a thing for sexual pleasure, and physical abuse. Vanessa nearly flinched when he felt her rip off her underwear, leaving her nothing but her bra.

So she simply replied in a bored tone, "I'm ready to moan as my husband makes love to me."

"Spread your legs my wife," he whispered with a seductive smirk on his face. A few seconds past, and before she knew the thrusting started. Vanessa hated feeling him inside of her but she knew that soon it would be over. Soon he started grunting as well, making her wonder if all this torture would ever come to an end.

* * *

"_What the hell did it all mean though? I can hardly remember any of it! I mean I know for a fact there was screaming. I also remember the blood, and those horrible looking hands. They had extremely long, yellow fingernails and they were an icy blue color. Almost demon looking but that's about it,"_ Megara thought to herself as she sat on her bed in the fetal position. It was a habit of hers to do that when she was either confused or scared. And at the moment, she was both which was never a good thing.

"Oh god, what am I going to do? Who am I going to tell?" she whispered to herself as she massaged her temple. Meg quickly jumped off the bed, and tried to grip on to reality so she didn't go insane. This nightmare was like no other, and so if she didn't calm down soon she'd surely lose a few marbles.

"_Why don't you just tell Jasmine? If she tells you everything, why can't you tell her everything? Besides, this nightmare was about her so she has the right to now. Especially since ma' was in it,"_ she thought to herself before letting out a sigh in defeat. Now Meg felt as if her own thoughts were going against her. This meant she was either really losing it or was in no position of making a decision on her own.

She found herself pacing around the room, unable to come to a conclusion "I guess I'll just tell her! There's no point in hiding it from her, besides if I don't tell her I'll probably end up acting all distant and odd. That'll just end up being a giveaway that's something wrong, and so I'll have to tell her sooner or later."

Meg continued to speak to herself, and then stopped when she looked at her reflection in the mirror "Oh my god I'm talking to myself. I'm really losing it this time, I think I just need a break in order to-"

Out of the nowhere there was a knock at the door. Meg simply stared at the doorknob for a second, wondering who was trying to open it. She was hoping that it was one of the guys as opposed to her stepsister because she was in no mood to talk to her. However if it was Aladdin that meant they were back, and she'd end up having to talk to her stepsister anyways.

"Meg, will you please open the door? They'll be back soon and I told you that I don't want to make things even more obvious. Besides I doubt you want Jasmine to find me half naked," Hercules called out from behind the door as he knocked again.

"Sorry Herc," she murmured as she quickly opened the door. The second she saw Hercules' face she felt her features soften. Also it felt as if the weight of the world had vanished for a single second.

"Finally, you decide to open up! You were taking forever Meg. I seriously thought you had fallen asleep on me. It would've been so embarrassing if Aladdin and Jas came home to find me locked out of our room. Can you imagine?" Hercules chuckled as quickly entered the room. He quickly closed the door behind him, making sure to lock it in case Al and Jas came home earlier than expected. He wore nothing but a white towel around his waist.

"_I'm not a light sleeper,"_ she told herself as Meg hugged herself for comfort. She watched as Hercules threw the towel on the bed, leaving him absolutely nude. It was no surprised that Megara was sexually attracted to her boyfriend, but at the moment her mind was too busy concentrated on other things.

"Is everything alright Meg? You finished taking a shower about twenty minutes ago, and you're still not even dressed. Is there something you want to talk about?" He questioned curiously as he walked over to the wardrobe, and pulled out one of his outfits. Hercules put on a gold armor suit, with brown sandals, and finally a red headband around his forehead.

She looked down at her body, and noticed how she was still wearing her robe "I guess I'm just a little tired. I haven't really been sleeping because I get up really early to steal. It's a lot easier to get away with it because the merchants themselves are half asleep, and so they aren't very alert."

"Well how about this? Tomorrow Aladdin and I will get up really early to do all the stealing, while Jasmine and you just enjoy some bonding time. Recently she's just spent most of her time with Aladdin, and you've just spent most of your time with me. So tomorrow could be strictly dedicated to bonding time?" He suggested with a faint smile on his face.

"_Oh my god that's perfect! That way I can use today to think about the dream, and what it meant. Then tomorrow I can tell Jasmine, and on top of that we'll get some bonding out of the experience. We haven't done that in a while,"_ Meg thought to herself with a grin on her face. She nodded at her plan, assuming that it was not only full proof but perfect!

"That sounds like a dream come true! Thanks Herc, you have no idea how much this means to me. But be honest with me, how on Earth did I get so lucky to have you in my life?" Meg inquired with a seductive smile on her face.

Without any hesitation, she placed her hand on his chest and used all her force to push him against the wall. She then softly placed a kiss on his lips, smiling when she felt him wrap his arms around her waist. Meg then wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling the sudden urge to make love to him all over again.

Hercules carefully parted from the kiss, "Sorry Meg but right now isn't a good time. I mean this would be what? Round four…I don't think I can take much more."

She nodded at her words, trying to hide the fact that her cheeks were a bit red "You're right I'm getting pretty tired myself. What can I tell you Herc? You're a big turn on."

Meg placed a soft kiss on his cheek before turning on heel. She quickly took off her robe, and threw it on the bed like he had done with his towel. Meg gracefully walked over to the wardrobe, and pulled out her iconic purple dress. She put it on, and then walked over to her small vanity mirror in order to fix her hair.

"_Decent enough,"_ she thought to herself with a sly grin. She nearly flinched when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist, and placed delicate kisses on her neck.

Meg laughed a little at how his kisses tickled her skin, "What happened to being tired from our previous session of love making?"

"What happened to me being a turn on?" Herc countered argued as he continued to leave kisses up, and down her make. Eventually he made her moan, and they were both considering to do it right there and then.

However as if on cue they both heard the sound of people climbing the ladder. Both Meg and Hercules stormed out of the bedroom, and darted downstairs.

* * *

"Hey Meg, I'm assuming you two had a good little nap?" Jasmine asked with a raised eyebrow as she picked herself up from the floor. She wiped the dust off her pants, and took a few steps closer to the couple.

Meg playfully rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips "Geez Jas we all know what really happened while you guys were gone. No need to make it any more obvious then it is."

"You'll need to excuse her she does that a lot!" Aladdin called out as he picked himself up from the floor. He walked over to Jasmine, and amorously wrapped his arms around her thin waist. She almost flinched at his touch but immediately relaxed, when she realized it was only her boyfriend being his romantic self.

"Anyways," Aladdin started as he let go of Jasmine "what do you all suppose we do? I mean I'm fine with hanging out here for a few hours but what about tonight?"

"Oh I know! Tonight in Town Square they are going to put on a play. They've been working on it for months, and admission is free. I mean if it's all just fun and games, there's no harm in seeing it…right?" Jasmine questioned innocently as she looked at the rest of the gang pleadingly.

Aladdin nodded in response, giving her a warm smile "I'd love to go see the play! One condition though."

She groaned in annoyance, eyeing her boyfriend carefully "Okay what is it?"

"You have to count this as one of our dates. I'm tired of you saying that I never take you anywhere. Consider this one of our dates, and I'll go without a problem. What do you say Jasmine?" He questioned with a confident smirk on her face. Jasmine nodded excitedly as she eagerly ran into his arms, making him stumble a bit from the impact of the hug.

"Thank you so much Aladdin," she whispered into his ear as she hugged him tighter.

Hercules softly tapped his girlfriend's shoulder before inquiring, "What about us, Meg? Why don't we go on a date tonight? There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now, and I think tonight would be perfect."

She nodded at his request, not sure whether or not to be concerned "I'd love to go on a date tonight Herc. Between all the stealing and sleeping, we hardly get to do anything anymore. That being said, I am not going to go see a play. Theatre just isn't my thing... besides you know I'm not a fan of big crowds."

"That's fine! Actually that's perfect because I have something else planned. I know you'll just love it but there's a catch to all of this. Now, don't freak out because it's nothing serious," he explained making sure that she didn't jump to conclusions.

"Why did I not see that coming? Alright, what's the catch Herc?" Meg inquired as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, and furrowed her brow in confusion.

"We have to leave a little earlier then tonight. To be honest with you, we have to leave around sunset or else it'll end up killing the mood of the scenery. I hope that's not too much to ask of you," he gave her a charming wink which made her soften a bit.

She simply shook her head in response, "No that's not a problem at all. I actually don't even want to spend the whole day here, and so I better go find a dress to where for tonight."

"Oh me too," Jasmine called out as she ran up to her stepsister with a smile on her face.

Meg grabbed the young girl's hand, feeling so nervous on the inside "Great so I guess we'll both be helping each other. But just for the record we're going to find me a dress first because I'm leaving earlier then you."

Her stepsister rolled her eyes as she let out a deep breath, "Fine. I guess that's fair but you can't leave me to find a dress by myself. If I help you then you need to help me too."

Meg put her hand out for her stepsister to shake, "I wouldn't have it any other way…deal?"

Jasmine shook her stepsister's hand, grinning at how serious they were making the moment "Deal!"

Eugene inhaled and exhaled as the ocean breeze tickled his nose. He had escaped the castle, using a secret exit he had discovered the other day. Apparently it's what the servants used to get around the palace without disturbing anyone.

"I guess you were right blondie. There is a lot to discover inside the castle," he whispered to himself before letting out a small chuckle. He looked down at his feet, watching how his boots left prints in the sand.

Eugene looked up, and continued to walk closer to the water. He was dying to go swimming but knew that it would be a bad idea, and it would only get him in trouble later on. If he were to go swimming then he'd end up getting all wet, and he'd have to go back to the palace in search of new clothes. And if there was one thing he was sure of, it was the fact that the second he stepped foot in the palace he'd be bombarded with a '_To Do'_ list.

"What I wouldn't give for just a dip," he thought aloud as he knelt down on one knee. Eugene watched as the water pulled in and out, for that's just how the current works. He placed his hand in the water and enjoyed how freezing it was. Eugene felt himself zone out as his eyes remained glued to the salty, sea water.

"_What would I give to live where you are?_

_What would I pay to stay here beside you?_

_What would I do to see you smiling at me?_

_Where would we walk?_

_Where would we run?_

_If we could stay all day in the sun?_

_Just you and me_

_And I could be_

_Part of your world"_ A feminine voice sang, making Eugene snap back into reality. He simply blinked a few times, and then suddenly realized where he was.

"I better get back to the castle. Rapunzel doesn't like it when I just disappear like that," he told himself as he picked himself up from the ground. Eugene looked around for a second; he was more than certain that he had heard beautiful singing.

"It's a beautiful day to go swimming, no?" The same sweet voice called out. Eugene looked around and smiled at the young lady. The first thing that caught his attention was her fiery red hair.

"Yeah it is, I'd go swimming myself but it would just end badly. My name is Flynn Rider, what about yours?" He asked as he flashed a charming grin, making the young red head blush a little.

"My name is Ariel. I was invited to have lunch with the Queen, and meet the new princess of this kingdom. I hear she has a wonderful personality, and from what I've seen in portraits she's really pretty!" Ariel told him as she played with her strawberry red colored hair back.

"Rapunzel? She didn't tell me that she we were expecting other royals," Eugene answered as he furrowed his brow in confusion. He was wondering if this Ariel was just your everyday nobody, or your very rare princess in disguise.

She innocently tilted her head to the side, "You know the princess? Um…you wouldn't happen to be the prince, would you?"

"I actually am but there's nothing to worry about, I'm not big on formalities. Hey let me ask you something, if you're supposed to be meeting my wife then what are you doing here?" Eugene inquired as he raised his eyebrow.

Ariel fiddled with her fingers nervously, "I just wanted to go swimming for a bit. Sometimes being a royal can be really stressful, and swimming has always calmed my nerves. I'm always opened to meeting other royals but I'm afraid I'll make a fool of myself. My husband says that I'm too perfect to make a fool of myself, I love him dearly."

Eugene laughed as he placed his hand on the back of his neck, "Oh Ariel, believe me you have nothing to worry about. My wife tends to get nervous around royals herself, if anything that's something you have in common. Also you two both really like breaking out into song. Why? I'll never know but blondie certainly enjoys doing it."

The young red head took mental note of all of this, "Oh okay. I guess if there's anyone who knows her it is you, considering that you two are married. Supposedly I have to spend the whole day with the princess. The last time I had to do this the princess didn't like me, and she made me feel bad about myself all day. The moment she found out about my secret, she treated me like I was some sort of monster."

Princess Ariel had fair skin, ruby red lips, unique red colored hair, and ocean blue eyes. She wore a dress witch had light blue sleeves, and a dark blue bodice. She also wore and a bluish white colored shirt. On top of her head she wore big royal blue bow, and black heels to compliment the outfit.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," he sympathized as he stared at her with empathy. Eugene remembered all the snobby he had met with Rapunzel, most of them judged him on his past and so he just gave up on them.

She pouted a bit and let out a sad sigh, "It's alright. I mean it wasn't your fault that she didn't like me. Anyways the reason I have to spend the whole day with your wife is to prevent war. Apparently both of our kingdoms have been going back and forth for years, and so I'm here to bury the hatchet. At least that's what my husband said, I'm not really sure how to do that though?""

Eugene stared at her in awe, "Wow that's a big responsibility."

"I know it is. That's why I'm really nervous, and recently I haven't been acting like myself. I haven't been able to sleep because I don't know whether or not Princess Rapunzel will like me. Eric says that I have nothing to worry about because I'm just that lovable, but I don't know?" Ariel shrugged as she placed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She wasn't even aware of how fast she was talking, it was a miracle if anybody understood her.

"Well," he started with a faint grin on his face "would you like me to lead you to the castle? If I'm not mistaken a princess should never be unescorted."

Ariel locked arms with him and smiled, revealing her pearly white teeth "I'd love that!"

**A/N: Well, I really hoped you guys liked it! Again I have to apologize for the delay, school has been really hectic. If anyone is confused or have questions, just remember that all will be revealed sooner or later. I mean what's a story without a little suspense, right? You guys are all the best, and I'm so thankful that you guys actually take the time to read my story. And as for my reviewers, you guys make my day- no joke1 Anyways until next chapter everyone, thanks for reading…**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys! So I just want to start this chapter off, by giving a big round of applause to Suzerenma, justdance11, Avril Lambert, and my best friend Demi Brackensick for reviewing! I also want to give a big round of applause to my readers because it means a lot to me that you guys actually take the time to read my story. Oh and I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I actually had this chapter written, and in the Document manager weeks ago, but I haven't gotten around to editing it. I had two projects to work on, and on top of that I've been attacked with homework. I hope you guys can forgive me, and don't worry I'm not going to give up on this story! Enjoy chapter 4…**

"Jasmine, going dress shopping earlier was the smartest thing we did all day. I'm not really big on the whole princess gowns, and lady like corsets but I really do like the one I picked out. It suit me if you know what I mean," Meg commented as she softly brushed her brownish red colored hair

Jasmine quickly appeared next to Meg, and stared at her own reflection as she put her earrings on "Yeah I suppose you do look really nice in it. And I'm sure Hercules will be speechless when he sees you in it. And if you want to take about a dress that suits you, I think my dress was literally made for me. I mean it fits me perfectly!"

It was a true both girls were wearing marvelous gowns. For her date, Meg decided she'd wear a royal blue colored gown, which hugged her curves perfectly. As for Jasmine- she wore a slender, spaghetti strapped, aquamarine colored dress.

"Anyways it'll be sunset soon so I better head on downstairs. Hercules said he wanted to leave early, and I don't want to keep him waiting. But hey- good luck on your date Jas," she called out to her stepsister as she dashed down the staircase in a hurry.

"See you later!" Jasmine called out to Meg as she twirled in front of the mirror with a smile on her face. She quickly fixed her black hair, into a rather large ponytail which reached down to her waist.

She smiled when she heard Meg's voice from all the way downstairs, "Hey Herc, I'm all good to go!"

* * *

Melody sat outside her parent's bedroom with a novel at hand. At first she had sat at the dinner table, trying to read her book. But when she started hearing noises, she assumed that her father had started beating her mother. So Melody ran off to go investigate, and now she was regretting the decision of ever leaving the dinner table.

"_He just keeps on going, and going, and going…it feels like it's never going to end. He is never going to stop being a pig,"_ she thought to herself as she placed the novel on the floor. Melody felt as tears started forming in her eyes, and so she tightly hugged her knees close to her chest.

"_Don't start rocking, don't start rocking, don't start rock-"_ Melody's train of thought was cut off by the sound of her mother moaning. She placed her hands over her ear, and was thankfully able to tune the sound out. However soon her father started grunting, and cursing to the top of his lungs. And no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't tune that out.

"I'm getting out of this prison," she inaudibly whispered as she picked herself up from the ground. Melody then jolted towards her bedroom, and before she knew it she was climbing out of her window.

The second her feet touched the ground a confident smirk appeared on her face. She let out a sigh of relief but she still wasn't happy. Melody spun on heel, and dashed towards her boyfriend's house.

"_Jim I really need you right now. I just need you to hold me in your arms. All I need right now is to talk to you, to feel you, and most importantly just to be with you,"_ she told herself as she continued to race down the street in a hurry. The young girl pushed past a few strangers, not even caring if she rudely bumped into people and kept on running without an apology.

Soon she arrived at his house, and knocked on his door impatiently "Jim open up! Jim it's me, Melody now open up. Jim come on, I really need to talk to you! Seriously, open the-"

"Don't you think I would if I could?" A masculine voice called out. Immediately Melody looked up, and smiled brightly when she was able to match the familiar voice with the familiar face.

"What did you do this time?" she inquired playfully, chuckling at how he just knew he got in trouble. You see, that's how it worked at the Hawkins resident's. When Miss. Hawkins got into an argument with her son, he locked himself away in his room, and refused to come out.

"Nothing, my mom and I just got into another stupid fight. Um, I'm going to use my bed sheet to make a rope so you can climb up. Make sure you don't slip," Jim whispered before throwing down the rope which he had made, using his bed sheets.

Melody smiled as it cascaded down the house, and so she whispered "It really does awe me how fast you're able to make those things. And don't worry about me; you know that I don't have butter fingers."

She gripped on to the bed sheets, and started to carefully climb her way up. At first it seemed as if it would take her forever. However a few minutes later, she found herself sitting on his windowsill.

Melody let out a sigh of relief, happy that she was far away from her home "You have no idea how much I've missed Jim!"

Jim smirked as he wrapped his arms around her waist, and carried her inside "I hate it when we can't see each other."

She placed a simple kiss on his lips, "I hate it too. I honestly wish we could see each other every day but life just doesn't work that way."

He smiled as he ran over to his window, and hastily pulled the rope back inside. Once the rope was completely in the house, he closed the window and closed the curtains. Jim knew that Melody found the darkness romantic, and that's exactly the mood he was trying to go for.

"_Nice touch," _Melody thought to herself as she licked her lips, enjoying the taste his lips had left off. She felt as her body began to burn with want but reminded herself that she had to keep her hormones in check.

Jim spun on heel, and playfully jumped on the bed "So is everything alright? By this time you're usually having dinner with your family."

Her smile faded a bit as she let out a gloomy sigh, "My mom went to go wake him up but she never came back. At first I thought he was hitting her but when I got closer to the door, their moaning and grunting said otherwise."

"I'm sorry you had to hear that Melody," he sympathized as he placed a warm kiss on her cheek.

Melody felt herself blush as she placed her hand on her cheek, "To be honest with you, I'm just getting used to it. Besides all I really needed was to get out of the house, and come see you. Whenever I'm with you, I always feel a lot…safer."

"Well I like it when you come to visit me. You always make me-" Jim was abruptly cut off when he felt Melody grip on to his shirt, and pull him into a passionate kiss.

Jim Hawkins had light brown hair, and baby blue colored eyes. He wore a casual brown jacket, with a tan t-shirt, and blackish brown colored pants. His hair was parted at the forehead, and he kept his hair neatly tied in a ponytail.

Melody then cut the kiss off for air, and flashed him a warm smile "Sorry but I just really needed that."

Jim shook his head as he licked his lips with the same cocky smile, "You don't need to apologize for kissing me. You don't ever need to apologize for kissing me, Melody."

"Good because I'm about to go it again," she closed her eyes and then pulled him into another kiss. Melody wrapped her arms around his neck, and smiled when she felt him securely wrap his arm around her waist.

Jim broke off the kiss, not sure if he could handle the heat "Did I ever tell you that every time we kiss it literally burns?"

Melody shook her head, blushing at his comment "No but I feel the exact same way. It's a little scary but I think I we can handle it."

He nodded, and gently kissed her forehead "We can handle anything as long as we're together."

She looked at him, and thought to herself "_I love you Jim Hawkins."_

Instead however Melody rested her head on his shoulder, while he held her fragile body close to his. She allowed silence to take over, and could've sworn she heard his heart beating. Melody smiled because she was pretty sure he could hear hers. She looked up into his eyes while he looked down into hers. That one moment just seemed so perfect, Melody felt…free.

"_I need to get her away from all this. I need to get her away from her home, and I need to get her away from all the sadness. But most importantly…I must get her away from her dad,"_ Jim told himself as he started to concoct a plan.

"Blondie, are you here?" Eugene called out as he entered the garden with a smile on his face. By his side was Princess Ariel, and she couldn't look more nervous.

"Eugene, momma and me are over here!" A sweet feminine voice called out from under the gazebo. It was obvious that both Queen Carolina and her daughter were only a few feet away, from where the couple stood.

He looked down at the little red head, "You okay Ariel? You look like you're going to pass out."

"I-it's just that I've never really met another royal on my own. Usually I have Eric by my side but this time it's different. In my kingdom, most of the royals I met just needed an escape from their everyday routines. But the royals here…they really are no better than there stubborn fathers," Ariel whispered as she hugged herself for comfort. The young princess looked down at her feet, hoping that Eugene didn't judge her too much.

"Ariel, I promise you that you have nothing to worry about. My blondie gets really nervous around other royals to, and Queen Carolina is one of the sweetest people you can meet. Everything will be alright," he reassured her as he firmly placed his hand on her shoulder. It was right there and then that he noticed how petite Ariel was compared to him. The realization made a faint smile appear on his face.

"Is everything alright over there?" Queen Carolina inquired as she stood up from her seat. Suddenly her smile brightened as she exited the gazebo, and ran up to Ariel with opened arms.

Without any hesitation she hugged Ariel, leaving the young red-head bewildered "Oh hello! I didn't think you'd be so happy to see me, you're majesty. Um, you wouldn't happen to be Princess Rapunzel would you?"

The Queen parted from the hug, and slightly laughed "I am so happy you're here Ariel. You have no idea how important it is that you're here. We promise you that we'll make sure your stay here is very comfortable. And as flattered as I am by your question, I am not Princess Rapunzel."

"Momma what's taking so-" Rapunzel haste fully walked out of the gazebo but stopped mid-sentence when she saw Ariel. She didn't recognize the young princess so immediately she started feeling a bit shy.

Ariel let out a deep breath, and tried her hardest to find her courage "Oh hello! I'm Ariel, and I'm assuming you're Rapunzel?"

The young blonde looked up at Ariel, "Nice to meet you Ariel. My momma didn't tell me we were expecting company. But that's okay because I love surprises, and I think you're a wonderful surprise!"

Before Ariel had the chance to speak up, Queen Carolina interrupted "Why don't you two head down to the gazebo, and talk there? I have something I need to attend to but feel free to roam around the palace without me."

"Yeah I think I'm going to head off too. I want to go do some horse riding, but I'll be back later. Goodbye ladies," Eugene told them as he excused himself. He then spun around, and walked back inside the palace. Quickly after him, Queen Carolina also entered the castle.

"Ariel, do you want to continue our conversation elsewhere?" Rapunzel inquired curiously with a slight smile on her face.

Ariel nodded at Rapunzel's offer, "Sure. I mean I'd love too!"

"Great, why don't we go to my favorite room?" The green eyed blonde inquired as she locked arms with Ariel. Suddenly both princesses felt a sense of trust come over them.

"And what room would that be?" Ariel asked as she threw her strawberry red colored hair back.

Rapunzel's eyes got a certain glimmer in them, when she spoke of her favorite room "The library, it's filled with all kinds of books. I like reading in my free time, it's kind of like running away to a different world. Almost like you get to-"

"Go on an adventure," Ariel replied with a bright smile on her face as she finished her Rapunzel's sentence. Both looked into each other's eyes, amazed by the new connection they had found themselves sharing.

"Exactly," she whispered as she led Ariel into the palace. For that one moment all their nervous emotions just dissolved. Little did they know their friendship would eventually be the only thing, keeping two kingdoms from going to war?

* * *

"So what is it, you wanted to talk about?" Meg questioned as she finished taking the last bite of her sandwich. She was still rather awed by the beautiful view of the sunset. At the moment the couple had just finished enjoying a pleasant picnic in a flowery meadow, while they watched the sunset from the top of a hill.

"Well you see, I've been thinking…life hasn't been easy recently. The merchants down at the market place are starting to catch on," Hercules explained as he rested his head on her lap. He was lying down on the grass covered floor as she looked down into his eyes.

Meg wasn't entirely sure where he was going with this, "Yeah I guess things have been easier. But we're still able to make ends meet without a problem. No one goes to bed hungry, and no one wakes up hungry. I mean some days we eat more than others but I'm sure it's like that for everyone."

"Yeah but not everyone steals their food," he counter argued with a charming smirk on his face.

She rolled her eyes, wondering why no one could ever accept the role they put themselves in "Yeah but we decided this life was fine. As long as we stay together, everything will work out fine. And besides now that the lost princess is back, the kingdom's economy will be better in no time."

"So you just want us all to sit around, and wait for things to get better?" Hercules asked as his smirk faded, and in its place was an upset frown.

Meg let out a sad sigh as she ran her fingers through his orange hair, "Is there anything else we rally can do? I mean that's all we've been doing all these years. What makes now so different from then?"

"Well we're older now. We can make a living, and we can support ourselves. We can get jobs, and find a place to live. Aren't you tired of having to steal?" he asked as he gently rubbed her cheek with his thumb.

She shook her head, unsure what else to say "I'm fine with stealing. I know it isn't the most moral thing to do but it's not like we have another option. There are no jobs available, the economy isn't exactly in its best shape, and the money we steal- we use for necessities."

"That's not the point Meg," Hercules argued as he picked himself up from the ground. He then sat down in front of her, forcing the two to make direct eye contact.

"Then what is the point, Herc?" she inquired as she hugged herself for comfort. Meg obligated herself to stare into her eyes. Even though she did feel a little uncomfortable about it, the last thing she wanted to do was giving him the impression that she was being dishonest.

"The point is that we don't have to live like this anymore. Heck, we don't even have to stay in Corona. We can both just go, make a run for it, and make a new life someplace else. We can go live in a kingdom that actually have jobs available. We can go to a kingdom where we don't have to steal, or live on the streets in order to survive. We can actually have something better," Hercules clarified with an imploring glimmer in his eyes. He looked so needy; he spoke as if he were a homeless man who begged for money every day, and every night.

"Herc you're not actually suggesting we leave Corona, are you?" she questioned in a shocked tone as she backed away. On some level Meg was rather offended but on another level, her mind kept on going back to her nightmare.

"Well yes, I've been planning this for a long time now. Meg we're not kids anymore so that means there is nothing stopping us. Honestly, what could possibly be holding us back now besides ourselves?" he gave her look that just spelled out '_I'm right-and-you're wrong'_.

"Hercules we have lives here, they may not be good ones but they are our lives. Also I can't just abandon Jasmine! When our mother was on her death bed, we promised her that no matter what happened we'd stick together. No matter who came into our lives, that we'd let no one and nothing tear us apart. You just need to respect that Herc," she told him bitterly as she backed away some more. Meg continued to back away but stopped when she felt her back touch the trunk of the apple tree, they sat under.

Hercules scooted closer, and looked at her with a saddened expression "Meg it's not like you'd be completely leaving her alone. She has Aladdin by her side, and he plans on taking her away as well."

"Wait- so now you're telling me that you plan on taking me away from Jasmine, and Aladdin plans on taking Jasmine away from me? And you expect me to be okay with that!" Meg screamed as she felt the anger inside of her begin to boil. Without any reluctance she clenched her fists, and prepared herself to punch him right in the face. However Meg let out a deep breath, and reminded herself that violence would get her nowhere.

"_Besides considering how strong he is, I doubt he'll feel a thing. So there's no point throwing a punch if it'll only come back to hurt me," _she told herself as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

He realized how he was doing more harm than good, and so he didn't say a word. Instead Hercules slowly got closer to the woman he loved, and gave her a warm smile. He noticed how his smile still wasn't enough to calm her nerves because she still seemed angry, annoyed, and he was picking up a hint of fear.

"Meg, do you love me?" Hercules whispered as he got closer to her. He then he put both his hands against the tree trunk on either side of Meg, keeping her trapped.

She was a bit surprised that he wasn't angry with her, and she was even more shocked by his question "Of course I do. If I didn't then I wouldn't enjoy all the time we spend together, and I wouldn't enjoy feeling your lips against mine. I also wouldn't enjoy falling asleep in your arms at night, and if I didn't then I wouldn't be here right now. But that still doesn't excuse what you want me to do."

"I know it doesn't, and I'm sorry. But since you do love then let me take care of you," he begged as he wrapped her arms around her waist. He held her in his arms for a moment, just allowing her to get used to his touch. And then he pulled her into a warm, passionate kiss.

At first Meg wanted nothing more but to melt in his arms but she quickly remembered, why she was angry in the first place. And so, she pushed him away "Stop that! You're not going to get me to agree to run away with you by making love to me in a meadow. Herc I already have enough to worry about, and now you bring this into my life! I've already lost a mother! The last thing I want is to lose you, or my sister, or even Aladdin!"

"Meg, I'm just trying to give you a better-" Before he had a chance to finish, he was rudely interrupted by Meg. Her eyes were now watery, and she had clenched her fists as if she were ready to punch him. Which she probably was but she had no intention of hurting him, at least not physically.

"I don't want a better life Herc! I never asked for one, and I don't need one. If you're not happy with the life you live now- then go ahead, and run off in search of a new one. But I'm staying by my stepsister, and no one is going to change that. Do you understand or did I stutter?" she spat in a very hostile tone. She didn't care if she was being harsh or nasty, she was furious with him

"Well you know what? Excuse me for actually caring about you! And you know what Meg? I'm not going anywhere because I want to spend the rest of my life with you. If I didn't do you honestly believe I'd ask you to run away with me?" Hercules rhetorically asked as he wrathfully narrowed his eyes.

She picked herself up from the ground, and wiped away the tears from her eyes "I need to get back home. I don't have time for these games. If you love me then I love you back, and I'm begging you to just let me be happy. And if you can't do that then I want you out of my life by tomorrow."

Meg took a deep breath, and felt as more tears formed in her eyes. However using the little courage she had left, she walked away from him. She let out a sad sigh, wondering if she had just made one of the biggest mistakes of her life. Meg brushed the feeling off, and continued walking with her head held high. Even though she felt like her heart had smashed into a million pieces, and her vision was blurry due to her tears- she held her pride high.

"_I need to tell Jasmine. I'm not letting anyone separate us, not now and not ever. We promised ma' that we'd stick together, and by god that's what we're doing! Through thick and thin I promise thee, that we'll stick together through night's last gleam,"_ she told herself as she recalled the last words her mother had made both Jasmine, and her say in unison. It was almost disturbing how she could vividly see Jasmine and herself, as they kneeled next to their mother who was already lying on her death bed.

* * *

Melody opened her eyes, and immediately sat up as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes "Jim I need to get home. My mother is probably worried sick about me but she'll understand. I just hope my father isn't drunk again."

"Well if he is, you're more than welcome to come back. To be honest with you Melody…I wish you'd spend the night with me," Jim confessed as he let out a tired yawn.

"I know you do, and believe me if I could- I would. But things are complicated at home, and the only reason I stay if for my mother. If she wasn't there, then I'd leave my father for you in a heartbeat but unfortunately my life isn't like that," she explained as she hopped off the bed, allowing her bare feet to touch the wooden floor. Melody then put on her crème colored shoes, and fixed her hair in a messy ponytail.

She pushed a few loose strands behind her ear, letting out a deep breath "I love you Jim."

He looked up at her with wide eyes, and smiled "I love you too Melody. I always will, and I always have."

Melody nodded as she turned around, and sweetly kissed his cheek "Take care handsome. The moment I get the chance I'll come visit you."

"I'll be waiting," he called out suavely. Jim then watched as Melody opened his bedroom window, and then soundlessly made her way on to the roof. He listened as she carefully slid off, and could literally hear as her feet touched the pavement of the sidewalk.

"I finally know how I'm going to get you out of this mess. I finally know how I'm going to get _us_ out of this mess," Jim whispered to himself as he let out a dreamy sigh. He then draped the blanket over himself as he rested his head on the fluffy pillow. He let out another tired yawn, and his eyes slowly closed as he drifted off into a deep slumber.

**A/N: Well, I really hoped you guys liked it! Again I have to apologize for the delay, school has been really hectic. If anyone is confused or have questions, just remember that as always all will be revealed sooner or later. You guys are all the best, and I'm so thankful that you guys actually take the time to read my story. And as for my reviewers, you guys make my day- no joke! Anyways until next chapter everyone, thanks for reading…**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey everyone! So I am so sorry that I haven't updated in forever! You see two weeks ago I lost power due to that awful hurricane Sandy. So not only was I internet deprived but I was also TV deprived, and not to mention Fanfiction deprived! Honestly it was terrible…I couldn't even turn a light bulb. However I know that things could have turned out a lot worse so I'm not complaining too much. Anyways so I eventually got my power back but then my lap top started having issues and it wouldn't let me log in! I had to be on mobile and we all know that it's impossible to update through mobile. It was being so stupid- my I-pod wouldn't even let me review stories, so it was just so irritating! Also school has been killing me, considering that I lost a whole week of it. My teachers just decided to go homework crazy on me…not fun guys, just no! Anyways I want to give a big shout out to RandomFandom5, Ribon95, Avril Lambert, and my best friend Demi Brackensick for reviewing! Enjoy chapter 5 everyone…**

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Gaston growled as he gripped on to his wife's arm and then viciously threw her to the ground. He smirked in triumphant when he saw her fall, and waited until she got up on all fours before kicking her in the stomach.

Vanessa once again found herself on the floor as more tears formed in her eyes, "I-I'm sorry Gaston…please? Please just stop? I'm sorry! I'm sorry. I won't disobey you; I won't ever disobey you again... I promise."

His smirked only widened as he roughly picked her up bridal style, and then rapidly darted towards the bedroom "You're going to be a good little wife."

"But Gaston my b-body it h-h-hurts," she whispered meekly but he paid no mind to her whimpering. Instead he just threw her rather sore body on to their mattress before mounting forcing himself on top of her.

Gaston licked his lips hungrily as he eyed her nude body, knowing that soon his own expose body would be inside of her "You are such a dirty little wife. Now, tell me where you want to be touched? Go on now, be a good little wife and tell me."

Vanessa began to panic and decided she'd tell him to do something that would not only please him but it would also be painless. She tried to hide her fearful expression and replace it with a false lustful one, "Kiss me my husband."

The hunter smirked as he wrapped his arms around his wife's fragile waist. Gaston then rapidly pulled her into an agonizingly sloppy kiss. It took the man a while to force himself to part his own lips from those of his wife, "That was delicious Vanessa. Now, wrap your arms around my waist!"

The brunette reluctantly nodded her head as she did as she was told. Vanessa closed her eyes, wishing that she could go back to a simpler time in her life. However before she knew it her husband had started satisfying his needs, and only one thought roamed her mind "_Melody…where are you?"_

* * *

Melody tried her best to pick up her pace. It was getting later and later with each and every passing minute, and time itself just wouldn't let her keep up. She continued to dart in and out of alleys; hoping that the shortcuts would help her get home faster but they did no such thing.

She continued jogging through Corona, and eventually she ended up stumbling into Town Square. When she got the chance to look around, she realized that she was lost in a huge mod of people "_Oh God how am I supposed to find an exit?" _

Melody tried her best to get out of the huge mob but ended up accidentally bumping into a young woman. She fell back and the next thing she knew, Melody was on the ground "Oh gosh, I am so sorry ma'am! I can be such a klutz!"

The young woman turned around and shot the young girl a warm smile. She then put her hand out for the other girl to grab, "Oh don't worry about sweetie! It's a large crowd and it's easy to get lost or bump into a people. Um, you wouldn't happen to be lost would you?"

Melody shook head as she gratefully took the woman's hand in order to pick herself up from the ground, "I'm just trying to get home and I somehow ended up getting lost in the crowd. My name is Melody, what about you?"

"My name is Jasmine. Um, if you aren't in a rush you really should stay. The reason there's such a big crowd is because they're putting on a show tonight! And I just love the theatre," Jasmine let out a dreamy sighed as she gestured over to the stage. It was rather large and people were practically fighting over the front row. There were no seats so everyone was standing up.

The young twelve year old fixed her hair into a messy ponytail, and then placed a few strands of loose hair behind her ear. She smiled faintly at Jasmine; she was glad that she had bumped into such a friendly person and watching a play really did sound like fun! But she needed to get home, "I'd love to but my mother doesn't like it when I stay home late. I'm already late as it is so I need to just keep on going."

"Oh believe me dear I completely understand. Let me guess, the reason you're going home late is because you were meeting up with your boyfriend, right?" she inquired with a raised eyebrow expression.

Melody felt herself blush a bit as she nodded her in head in reply, "H-how did you know? Is it that obvious?"

Jasmine laughed a bit but shook her head, not wanting to make the girl feel as if she couldn't lie convincingly "No it's just I recognize the look in your eyes. It practically spells out '_I'm in love_' so there's no point in trying to hide it. Not from at least, if it's your mother you're trying to fool I'm sure you'll do a great job!"

"Okay then…thanks, I guess?" she shrugged innocently as felt her cheeks begin to burn up from Jasmine's comment about being in love. Was it really that noticeable? Did she really have the word '_love-struck' _written on her forehead? Was there really a dreamy look in Melody's eyes?

Suddenly another man sneaked up behind Jasmine, and then softly tapped her on the shoulder. Melody watched with keen interest as Jasmine turned around, and immediately she smiled brightly at the man who had tapped her on her shoulder.

"Oh my goodness, John it's you!"

John flashed the young woman a charming smile, "It's nice to see you again Jasmine. Now tell me how is everything going with you?"

Jasmine took a second to think about it, and although a million thoughts roamed her mind she couldn't stop looking into his outstanding blue eyes, "Everything is going great with me. I'm actually here with my boyfriend who should be around here somewhere? Um, what are you doing here?"

"_I guess this is my cue,"_ Melody told herself before swiftly running away without even saying a farewell or waving goodbye. No, instead she attentively made her way out of the large crowd people and continued on her way home…

John took a second to look around, almost as if he were searching for one. However he quickly gave her a fast response, "I came here with my little sister Giselle. She's a bit of a theatre fanatic, and I didn't like the idea of her walking around Corona late at night by herself."

She nodded at his words, finding his act of kindness to be very noble "Why am I not surprised that you're the overly protective big-brother type?"

He shrugged at her words; he certainly was protective of his younger sister. But he wouldn't necessarily call himself overly protective, "I wouldn't say I'm overly-protective but yeah, I guess you could say I watch my younger sister like a hawk. It's what my dad would have wanted me to do."

"I'd love to meet her! I have an older sister too so us younger siblings need to-" Suddenly Jasmine was cut off when she felt a strong pair of arms wrap themselves around her waist as pair of lips softly kissed her cheek.

Aladdin let go of his girlfriend and he quickly introduced himself to the blue-eyed, blonde stranger "Hi there! My names Aladdin, what's your name?"

"John," the other man told him as he felt himself to grow a little jealous. It wasn't an emotion he liked, and to be frank…John had no idea where it was coming from!

Jasmine could sense the tension but she brushed it off, and convinced herself that she was just being silly "John this is my boyfriend Aladdin, and Aladdin this is my friend John. We met the other day at the marketplace..."

* * *

"I can't stand to stay here any longer. I just need to get away from all of this," Meg muttered to herself as she dashed over to her closet, and opened it in a hurry. She then took out her red scarf, and carefully wrapped it around her neck.

She felt a shiver go up her spine as she took off her heels, and then put on her casually brown colored sandals "Why am I so cold? I'm probably coming down with a stupid cold!"

Meg rolled her eyes in annoyance as she made her way out of her bedroom, making sure to slam the door shut in frustration. Before she knew it she was making her way down the ladder and the second her feet touched the ground, she allowed a sense of comfort to take over.

She spun around in the opposite direction and started walking off in the direction she wanted to, "I need to get out of Corona, at least for an hour. I need to just escape all this madness."

As Meg started making her way deeper into the alley, she started feeling as if someone was following her. It was an unnerving emotion which was driving her crazy because she hated feeling defenseless.

"_I'm probably just being paranoid,"_ she reassured herself as she immediately dashed out of the alley, and into a rather deserted street. Meg wasn't surprised that the street was rather deserted, after all a show was being put on in Town Square.

Meg continued walking through the empty streets, unaware that something awful waited for her in the woods. Of course that's exactly where she was going, the woods…

* * *

Melody pushed open her bedroom door window, and immediately jumped inside. She let out a comforting sigh the second she felt her back slam against her plush like mattress. Melody then stood up on her knees, and using all the force she had she shut her windows closed. She instantly spun around in the opposite direction, and then jumped off her bed in a hurry.

The young twelve year old haste fully opened her bedroom door, and the dashed into the kitchen. She looked around the room, realizing her mother was nowhere to be found "Mother? Mother where are you? Please tell me you're okay?"

She began to panic and she decided to make the rash decision of bursting into her parent's room, without even considering what may be lurking behind that door. The second she entered their room she felt her jaw drop in horror!

"Father, stop it!" Melody cried as she darted towards Gaston, praying that it wasn't too late to fix all this…

**A/N: Well guys I think I'm going to end it there! Sorry for the long delay and I am sorry this chapter is so short! I just really wanted to get something outt there in the open. Things have been really hectic recently, but now that I'm getting back into the swing of things hopefully I'll be able to update more regularly. Anyways until next chapter, and please feel free to leave a review…**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey guys! So, here's another chapter that came from out of the blue! I have a few other stories that are in dire need of my attention but unfortunately I have a bad case of writers block! Anyways I want to give a big round of applause to Bearybeary, Suzerenma, Avril Lambert, and .98 for reviewing! Thank you guys so much, it means a lot! Enjoy chapter 6 everyone…**

"Father you need to stop, now!" Melody begged as she fell to her knees with tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was saying, and she just kept on telling herself that it was all a bad dream and that she'd wake up eventually.

Vanessa hung her head down in shame, she wanted to speak up more than ever but she couldn't even if she wanted to! At the moment she was tied to the wall in an - X – position and she couldn't have felt more uncomfortable. For the past hours Gaston had been having his way with her multiple times, and he had been screaming more profanity than ever. Oh, and to top it all off Gaston had gagged her mouth. So no matter how loud she screamed, no one would be able to hear her shrieks of pain.

Gaston immediately rolled his eyes in annoyance as he pulled his daughter by her ponytail, stomped his way towards the exit and he then threw her to the ground "You stupid girl, you know you need to stay out of here! What the hell were you thinking?"

Immediately Vanessa tried her best to scream and order her husband to leave their child alone but it was hopeless! If she had been able to move then she wouldn't be tied to the wall at the moment but that wasn't the case. Not only was Gaston much stronger than his wife but he was a skilled hunter! If he knew how to tie the legs of a kicking buck, then he could certainly tie the legs, and arms of his petite and feeble wife.

Melody huffed as she fell to the ground; she knew exactly what to say, and exactly what not to say "Please don't hurt me? I was worried that momma was hurt! Please father, I was only trying to be a good daughter?"

Her father however was not easily persuaded, instead of accepting her little story – he slapped her across the face "How dare you lie to me! You and I both know that you planned on stopping me. Admit it girl, you were going to try and stop me from being a good husband?"

She could see the fire in his eyes and it terrified her, "No – never! Father please, I'd never ever try to do something like that! Please don't do something you'll-"

"Shut up! You're going to shut up or so help me, I'll make you watch as I continue to show your mother what a good wife does. Do you want to see that? Tell me Melody, do you!" Gaston roared as he picked her up by her ponytail, forcing her to let out a high pitched shriek. She wanted nothing but to get away! She wanted to just run away, and go see Jim again!

Melody looked up to him with pleading eyes. She knew he wouldn't kill her, but you'd be surprised what you could live through "P-please don't hurt me? I'll be a good…I promise. I'll be good…"

Vanessa looked down to the ground with humiliation as tears ran down her cheeks. Not only was it humiliating for Melody to walk in on them but she hated when Gaston pushed Melody around! How could he do that? Hurting her was one thing but hurting their daughter was a whole other story. She fought back tears as a million thoughts roamed her mind, "_I'm so sorry Melody! I'm an awful mother…"_

The dark haired hunter only gritted his teeth as he began to drag her towards a small room. The more his daughter struggled, the tighter his grip got on her ponytail. He had a feeling she knew exactly where he was taking her, and she knew how much she despised the room "Your words mean nothing to me! You bring nothing but bad luck, all I wanted was a son and I just couldn't have that! Now your mother and I trying to make you a younger brother and this is how you repay us? By not giving us our privacy! Well, now you'll learn! Now you'll learn, you brat!"

She tried her best to squirm away but she wasn't strong enough, compared to her father she was a feather in the wind "Father please? I'll do anything! I'm sorry; please don't send me down there? Please!"

However it was no use because before she knew her father had not only opened the door but he had thrown her inside the room. Melody let out a high pitched cry but her yelps were soon cut off for Gaston had slammed the door close, leaving his daughter in the darkness of their basement.

He then turned around in the opposite direction, and without a word he went back to his wife. Gaston closed the door behind himself as he entered their bedroom, "Now…where were we?"

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO **_

Meg kneeled down by the lake as she took a minute to listen to the sound of rushing water. She closed her eyes and only faintly grinned as Jack Frost tickled her nose. Although the sound of the water was lovely, she was freezing and wanted nothing more but to get home.

"_Home?"_ she thought to herself with a bit of a frown on her face. Where was home? Once Upon a time ago their hideout had felt like a home but now everyone wanted to go their own way! Meg didn't see the point in separating, so she tried her best to pay it no mind.

She hugged herself as a shiver shot up her spine, "I r-really should have brought a coat with me. What was I thinking?"

Meg removed the scarf from her neck as she studied the color. It was like blood-red, the color of the pool her mother had been in. It was blood-red, the same pigment of the liquid which had squirted from out of her mother's neck the day she died. It was blood-red, the same color of her almost broken heart.

She pushed those thoughts and suddenly a loud wolf howl roared through the night sky. However the wolf howl didn't sound distant, although it had a bit of an echo to it – the sound itself sounded as if it were only a few feet away.

Meg didn't dare turn around though. She didn't want to give the wolf the satisfaction of knowing that she was scared. No one – not even Hercules – deserved that kind of pleasure. Suddenly she could hear footsteps coming her way but she just knew they weren't footsteps. No, whatever was behind her wasn't human.

She immediately stood up and started running towards the forest. Meg closed her eyes for a second and she just knew the wolf was chasing her.

The wolf growled in anger and frustration as it's pray ran away from it. No matter though, this beast liked a good challenge. It especially enjoyed a good hunt and a weak damsel like this one didn't stand a chance.

What the wolf didn't know is that it had met Meg before. They had both, it had been years since they had last seen each other but love never dies. Not really anyways…

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

Ariel's eyes widened with shock as Rapunzel told the story about Mother Gothel and how Eugene had saved her, "Wow Rapunzel! I mean I myself was trapped under the sea but I don't think I would have been able to handle with what you went through."

"What are you talking about? We practically went through the same thing?" Rapunzel giggled as she jumped off the love seat and merrily skipped over to a shelf filled with different books.

This moment was special because she usually paid so much attention to the books. However talking with Ariel made her forget about being a princess, it made her feel like plain, old Rapunzel again. The young brunette grabbed another copy of "Into the Woods" before turning around and skipping back over to Ariel. She opened the novel and started looking for the page she had stopped on.

The sweet red-head tilted her head to the side with the utmost curiosity. She didn't see at all how their situations were anything close to similar "What do you mean? You were trapped inside a tower for eighteen years of your life by a mad woman? Me…well, my life couldn't have been better! I mean don't get me wrong, I loved my daddy and all my sisters but…but-"

"There was something waiting for you beyond your sea home. Up above the sky waited for you, beckoning for you to come! Just beyond the bars…" Rapunzel explained completely unaware that she had finished her friend's sentence. Once she took notice of it, she immediately placed her hand on the back of her neck as she began to giggle nervously.

Ariel nodded her head in agreement; she didn't pay any attention to how Rapunzel had practically read her mind, "Exactly! Besides Eric had only been a perk to visiting the world above. Ever since I was little I had wanted to go. And the whole kiss thing…that was Ursula's rule; I was just trying to make my dream come true. I never asked for any of it but I wasn't going to let a once in a lifetime opportunity pass me like that."

It was almost uncanny how much Rapunzel understood, "Besides, you had never asked to fall in love in the first place. You had never asked to-"

"See the light?" The red-head asked with the same curious gaze.

Rapunzel held back a laugh as she remembered the song they had sang on the canoe. She let out a dreamy sigh as she lied back, "Yes, just like you had never asked to be part of Eric's world. You had dreamt of being part of the human world, just like I had dreamt of being part of the outside world. I had seen the light in my husband, and somehow you became part of your husband's world."

"Actually, "Ariel spoke up as she blushed in remembrance "you had become his light just like I had become my husband's world."

Both girls laughed in unison and eventually silence took over them. Both of them were taking the time to remember their love stories, and how it all had went down. They remembered the pain, the loss, the guilt, the love, and everything in between!

Eventually Ariel noticed how Rapunzel had started reading a book, "Um Rapunzel…what's the book about?"

Rapunzel looked up from the page she was reading and her face lit up like a Christmas tree as she hugged the book to her chest, "Only the best book ever! It's about this little girl named Little Red Riding Hood, this silly boy named Jack, a baker and his wife, and surprisingly it talks about this girl named…"

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

"So Aladdin," Jasmine started as she made her way up the ladder to their hideout "what part did you like the best?"

Aladdin took a few seconds to come up with a clever response, and eventually a cocky grin formed on his face "I liked the part where they both drank the wine at the end."

She looked almost offended as she rolled his eyes at his response, "Are you kidding me? Everyone hated that part! Not only is it the saddest part in the play but it meant that the show was over."

"Exactly," he muttered as he watched Jasmine reach the top. He quickly followed after her and once he was inside, he let out sigh of relief as he allowed himself to relax. He knew they were safe once they were inside the hideout.

Jasmine hated how everything was pitch-black and if that weren't bad enough, she just couldn't stop yawning "I think I'm going to head off to bed! Thank you so much for the romantic night Aladdin!"

"Oh come on Jas, I think you're forgetting something?" Aladdin hinted as he took a few steps closer to her. The fact that they were in the dark made things rather difficult but it only made the moment all the more romantic.

She blushed and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek but to her surprise he wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her into a full blown kiss. At first she had planned to cut it off a few seconds afterwards. However, his tongue eventually found hers and the sweet kiss had turned into a passionate display of affection. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her closer; making the space between them even smaller then it was before.

He eventually parted from this kiss as he held her tightly in his arms, "Jasmine…do you love me? Do you truly, really love me?"

Jasmine nodded her head with a serious expression. She wasn't sure where he was going with this but she was praying that he didn't have any doubts about how much he meant to her, "Of I do. Aladdin I'd rather die than have to live without you.

"Then you will you please do me the honor of running away with me?" Aladdin begged in a whispered tone. Before she had the chance to deny his off, he tried his best to silence her doubts by pulling her into a short however sweet kiss.

She smiled a bit as their lips parted and she then replied his off in her head. Did she really have the heart to just get up and go? What about Meg? She shook her head, "Aladdin I'd love to run away with you but I can't leave my sister. You know how much she means to me. You know her and I have done everything together. I love her."

"And I love you. Jasmine don't you want a better life? Look, tonight Hercules is going to ask Meg to run away with me…do you know what she's going to say?" He rhetorically asked with a bit of a raised eyebrow.

Jasmine innocently shook her head, "No…I don't, to be honest with you. I know Meg would never want to leave me but I also know how much she loves Hercules. She'd die for him almost as much as I'd die for you."

"She's going to say yes Jasmine. The both of us want to give you girls a better life. Jasmine I want to spend the rest of my life with you but we can't do that if we spend the rest of our lives, living in this group. We need to separate," Aladdin explained and it broke his heart when he saw how disappointed she looked.

She let out a sad sigh, "I just thought we could all run away together…"

"But Jasmine there's no point in running away if we all leave together. I promise you that we'll all still keep in touch; we just won't be living together anymore. Come on Jas, it'll be a lot better if it's just the two of us," he told her as he tried his best to coax her into agreeing.

Jasmine however remained skeptical as she slowly turned around, automatically breaking away from the hug "I don't know Aladdin? I like Corona! Besides where do you suppose we go anyways?"

"Well," Aladdin started as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders "I was thinking we could go to this neighboring kingdom that isn't too far from here. It's called Agrabah and I think you'd love it!"

She crossed her arms as she rested her head on his shoulder, "I don't know Aladdin? I mean, how would our life there be any different from our lives here? And what happened to waiting for the economy in Corona to get better? I thought you said the new prince and princess were going to make things better."

"They are! It's just that Agrabah has a lot more opportunities for us. I know it may seem impossible now but believe me Jasmine it'll be for the better. Please…just think about it?" He was practically begging and she just couldn't say no. He knew that she just couldn't deny him when he had that pleading look in his eyes.

Jasmine nodded her head and said, "Fine…I'll think about it."

"Thanks."

She shifted away and sat down on her knees. She hugged herself and that's when she realized how alone she felt, "_I can't leave my sister! We promised mother that we'd stay together and I have no intentions of leaving Meg behind!"_

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

"I need to get out of this hell," Melody whispered to herself as she wiped a few more tears from her eyes. She knew for a fact that her cheeks were probably blemished with tear stains but she didn't pay it too much mind.

She rested her back against the wall of her basement and let out a desperate sigh, "Someday I'll be free and far away. I'll take mother with me and we'll both be far away from father. I don't know why she doesn't just get me and leave him here to rot."

Melody fought back a shiver as she hugged herself, "It's f-freezing down here. I hate the basement! It's always so moldy and dusty, and not to mention cold and dark. But I guess that's why father locks me down here whenever he thinks I've been bad?"

She looked up to the ceiling and noticed how silence had taken over. She let out a relived filled sigh, "Good – he's done having his way with her."

Melody felt her stomach grumbled and that's when she remembered she still hadn't ate anything, "We were supposed to have dinner but then father had needs that just required mother's attention. He treats more like an object then he does a wife."

Suddenly there was a knock and her face slightly lit up. However she quickly realized that it wasn't coming from the door but from the window which was only a few feet above her.

She looked up and smiled when she noticed who had been knocking on the window. Melody carefully grabbed an old chair and got on top of it. She then pushed open the window, and greeted her boyfriend with a small kiss on the cheek "What are you doing here Jim? Let me guess…you sneaked out didn't you?"

Jim faintly grinned, "Hey if you can do it, why can't I? Besides I was worried about you and I had a feeling your asshole of a father would do something like this to you. I'd come inside but the window is way too small to get through."

Melody nodded her head as she got up on her tippy-toes; she hated how high the window was "Jim, you won't believe what my father did! Not only did he tie her to the wall but he had also gagged her so no one could hear her screaming. He was treating her like she was some kind of-"

"Skank..."

She nodded her head as her eyes started getting watery. She hated how small the window because right now she wanted nothing more but to be wrapped in his arms, "Jim I need to get out of here! It's freezing down here and I still haven't had a single meal since breakfast!"

He looked down at her with pity as he immediately grabbed a hold of her hand, "Run away with me…"

Melody felt her jaw drop as she took a moment to take it all in. Just a second ago she had been complaining about how awful her day had been, and now this! That being said although the request had caught her off guard, that didn't mean it sounded all too bad "But Jim what about my-"

"Melody you said it yourself, you hate the way your father treats your mother! Let me help you by taking you away from this life. I already thought all of this out, you'll leave your mother a note saying that you've run away because you can't stand your father anymore. This will drive her insane and she's bound to just pack up and go. And in the end, you'll have a better life and we'll be together? Melody please, let me help you?" Jim pled with the utmost desperation in his voice.

He hated seeing his girlfriend and this much discomfort, and he knew exactly how he was going to get her out of this mess. But he couldn't help her if she didn't cooperate.

The plan itself was like music to her fears but it sounded risky! What if they got caught? What if her father stopped her mother from leaving? Would that be it then? Would Vanessa have to spend an eternity cooking and cleaning and pleasing her husband? Besides, Jim and Melody are both so young! Where would they go anyways?

She let out a frustrated sigh and she just knew that this it wasn't going to be easy. But in the end she just couldn't deny him, "Let's do it. Let's get me out of here…"

**A/N: And that's all folks! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and once again I am so sorry for the long delay! I've been super busy and things have just been so stressful and hectic lately. Honestly guys, sometimes I wonder why I even bother with school anymore! Anyways, until next chapter everyone…**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey guys! So I know it's been a while since I updated but my life is getting all the more stressful and hectic with each and every passing day! It's crazy and believe me – it's weeks like last week that make me miss summer like there was no tomorrow! Now, I have some pretty good news though! One – Christmas Break started for me on the 21****st****! And two - I cannot wait for Christmas! Anyways I want to give a super big shout out to my three most loyal reviewers for this story: Avril Lambert, Ribbon95, and my best friend Demi Brackensick! You guy's the absolute best! Where would this story be without you guys reviewing it? Anyways enjoy chapter 7 everyone…**

Melody's eyes fluttered open and she was slightly surprised to see that she was in the basement of her house. She then remembered all the events that had taken place the day before and suddenly she wasn't as surprised anymore.

She tightly hugged her knees in front of her chest as she began to rock back and forth. A shiver shot up her spine as she inhaled and exhaled deeply. To her surprise however, it was so cold that her breathe actually condensed in the frigid air, "Where's mother when you need her?"

Suddenly, almost as if it were on cue Vanessa came running down the staircase in a hurry. Once she reached the bottom, she threw her hair back and crouched down to her daughter's level "Oh my goodness are you okay dear? I'm so sorry I didn't come fetch you last night, I feel just awful about it!"

There wasn't a single bruise or cut on her face and she couldn't have looked more beautiful. She was wearing a lovely dark blue dress and around her body was a thin, matching colored shawl. In fact there was an actual smile on Vanessa's face, and it was obvious that she was wearing makeup.

Melody tilted her head to the side in pure and utter confusion, "M-mother is everything alright? You seem so…so… satisfied! You never looked this pleased after being forced to spend a night with father. D-did something happen?"

Her mother's face simply lit up with joy and merriment. A certain sparkle filled her eyes as she began to nod excitedly, "I'm pregnant! I'm finally pregnant! And you do know what this means, don't you?"

"Wait what?" The young girl questioned as she felt her jaw drop in disbelief. She honestly did not expect this one bit!

Vanessa beamed as she took off her shawl and draped it around her cold daughter. She then half-hugged Melody and continued talking, "Now, your father thinks that it's a boy so when addressing the baby, make sure you say he or him. That way your father won't have reason to believe otherwise."

"Mother do you hear yourself? You just told me that you're carrying a monster's baby and you look like someone just offered you a chance of a lifetime!" Melody snapped with a bit of an angered and confused look. She did not see how on Earth this could be a good thing!

The older brunette simply smiled as she rested her head on her daughter's shoulder, "Sweetie what does your father want more than anything in the world?"

"A son…"

"And what does he think I'm carrying?"

"His son, I guess? But I don't see how the benefits you or me in any way possible. I mean he's still going to be the same violent, conceited, perverted man he's always been," she sighed at the thought of having to spend another night in the basement. She looked up at the window and faintly smiled in remembrance – Jim was going to take her away from here.

"Melody dear, your father has wanted a son more than anything. He won't him me because he doesn't want to endanger his son lives. Believe it or not, your father turns into a completely different man when I'm pregnant. He becomes," Vanessa took a pause between words as she tried to think of the right term "caring."

"_Impossible,"_ Melody thought to herself but on the outside she simply nodded. What more could she do? What's done is done, her mother was pregnant and there was no changing that. Although it still hadn't hit her that this meant she had a new brother or sister on the way, she wasn't sure how she felt about it.

After all one more child meant one more punching bag for her father…

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

Meg's instantly popped wide open the second she heard the sound of rushing water. She sat up and began rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She had no idea what time it was or how long she had slept, "What the hell happened?"

Once she was done rubbing her eyes, she looked around and that's when she realized she was still in the woods. She then looked to her side and saw a rather large river filled with rushing water "Oh that's right – I decided to spend the night in the woods."

She stood up and looked around. Although she had a feeling the wolf was long gone, you could never be too sure, right?

She brushed the feeling off as she made her way over to the river, bended down, and then cupped her hands together. She then placed her cupped hands into the water, and then took them out. Meg immediately gulped down all the water, her throat was burning "I really should have drunken something before going to bed last night."

"Help me! Somebody! Anybody! Help me, please?!"

Meg felt herself stiffen a bit but she forced herself to turn around as she began to look for the direction in which the scream had come from. It took a few minutes to realize that the screams had come from somewhere downstream, and this would also explain why the person sounded like they were drowning.

She began to hurriedly dart downstream and once she felt as if she had ran enough, she began to look around for a figure in the water "H-hello? Is anybody there? Does anyone need help?"

"Over here! Help me, please?"

Meg began to frantically look around and that's when she noticed where the shouting was coming from. Only a few feet up ahead from where she was standing there was a waterfall, and as she approached the waterfall, she noticed how there was a man trapped underneath the rushing water.

He was obviously drowning and he looked so disoriented, it was almost as if he didn't even know what it was he was drowning in, "Help me! Please, someone help me!"

She held her breath and without any hesitation, she jumped into the water without a single care in the world. Once she was underneath, she swam over to the man who had been drowning but by the time she got to him he was already unconscious.

Meg tilted her head to the side a bit in confusion; the man looked rather familiar. It was almost as if she had seen him somewhere before? She pushed these thoughts aside as she wrapped her arms around his torso and started swimming up to the surface with great haste.

Once she resurfaced she led him over to the shore, and began to check for a pulse "Come on, don't die on me now."

To Meg's surprise there was a pulse and this made a faint smile grace her features. Right away, she started performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

The mysterious man was handsome, with long auburn hair, and clear baby blue colored eyes. He was shirtless and it was obvious that he was rather muscular. He wore torn black colored pants, and he was also barefoot.

After a few more minutes of giving him mouth-to-mouth, just about when Meg was going to give up, the man simultaneously woke up from his slumber.

The second he sat up he started spitting out water as he tried his best to realize where he was. At first his vision was blurry so he started rubbing his eyes, but once he could see again – he couldn't help but smile at the woman who had save her. He cleared his throat and then spoke up, "Um, I'm assuming you're the girl who saved me?"

"Woman," Meg corrected with a bit of a smirk on her face "and yes – that would be me."

"Thanks. My name is Adam by the way?" Adam smiled as he put his hand out for her to shake. Something about her was recognizable, something that he couldn't quite figure out.

She faintly smiled at the name, something about it was memorable but it was probably just nothing. After all, they were just strangers, right? She shook his hand and then introduced herself "Name's Megara. My friends call me Meg; at least they would if I had any friends."

Adam couldn't help but laugh and suddenly it hit him. He remembered absolutely everything and almost as if it were on instinct, he pulled her into a warm hug "Meg! Oh my God – you're alive, Meg you're alive!"

At first Meg wanted nothing more but to pull away from the creep, considering that he had caught her off guard – who wouldn't? But then she replayed his words in her head and a raised eyebrow look formed on her face, "What are you talking about? Better question – who are you and why are you surprised I'm alive?"

He pulled away from the hug and the smile on his face faltered a bit, "Meg, how can you not remember me? We used to do everything together! It's me Adam – we lived in the same village together, remember?"

Suddenly her face lit up like a Christmas tree, she did remember! Meg really did remember and before she knew it, her arms were draped around him. It was almost as if she was afraid she was going to lose him, "I remember you. I love_**d**_ you…"

"I loved you too…" Adam whispered as he hugged her back. He didn't think he had the power to let go, he didn't want to let go – no – he wasn't going to let her go this time, he wasn't going to be the loyal boyfriend she always wanted.

Little did he know Meg already had a loyal boyfriend? Sure, they had their disagreements but they still loved each other, right?

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

Ariel took in a deep breath; she was trying her best to make sure she enjoyed the fresh ocean air "If only I could go swimming. If only I could-"

"Get out of here?"

The sweet red-head looked to her side and she couldn't help but smile at the prince. Why was it that they both went to the ocean at the same time? The funny thing – both of them went to the ocean for comfort – and yet neither of them went for a swim, "You could say that again."

Eugene beamed down at the princess as he picked up a sea shell from the ground, and then threw it back into the sea "So how did you get out of princess duty with Rapunzel?"

"She's having breakfast with the Queen right now. I decided that she needed to spend some quality time with her mother, and I needed some time to myself. She's a wonderful person by the way! Even though we've only known each other for a short amount of time – I already consider her a close friend," Ariel explained as she let out a bit of a sad sigh. The sound of the majestic ocean waves haunted her – oh what she wouldn't give to go for a sea.

She gracefully fell to her knees, and decided to take advantage of the moment "_What would I give, to live where you are? What would I pay, to stay here beside you? What would I do to see you, smiling at me? Where would we walk? Where would we run? If we could, stay all day in the sun? Just you and me! And I could be part of your world!_"

"You have an amazing voice," he interrupted as he sat down on his knees next to her. He looked up at the sea, and that's when it hit him why they both kept coming to the ocean to comfort.

Ariel looked up at the waves, and then it hit her as well why they both came to the sea. There was something the sea had that they didn't, "Thank you."

What they hadn't expected however is to both utter the word simultaneously.

"Freedom…"

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

"Melody, please eat your breakfast dear?" Vanessa begged in a bit of worried tone. For half an hour her daughter had just stared down at the food and picked at it, she hadn't had a single bite of anything.

Melody nodded her head as she tried her best to lie convincingly. Her stomach protested as it grumbled with hunger but there were far too many things in her mind. Although her body told her to eat, her heart and mind said the exact opposite, "I'm fine."

Her mother only sighed as she placed her hand on her stomach protectively. She smiled at the thought of actually giving her husband what he wanted for a change, "You can't just act like I'm not carrying your baby brother. I'm pregnant Melody and there's no changing that."

"_**S**_he isn't my baby sister and I'm not acting like _**s**_he doesn't exist. I'm very much aware that you're pregnant. I just hate the fact that it's _his _baby!" The young girl screamed as her eyes began to fill with anger. She clenched her fists as she bit down on the clip; her words were filled with pure and utter hatred.

Vanessa immediately sat up from where she was sitting and she instantly slapped her daughter across the face, "Don't you dare ever talk like that about your father again! Now, I will admit that your father isn't the best of people when it comes to his tendencies but he isn't the monster you make him out to be! And now that we have finally been blessed with a son, I am not going to let you ruin this for me Melody. I finally have a son – I finally did something right as a wife! Do you understand what that means?"

Melody placed her hand on her red cheek as she felt tears begin to form in her eyes, "Yes – it means that I was a mistake! It means that father and you would've been happier if I were born a male! Well you know what? I don't need to put up with this, I'm leaving!"

"Melody, don't be ridiculous, you are just a child," Vanessa protested in a motherly tone. She didn't take her daughter seriously one bit.

She stood up from where she was sitting and immediately ran into her room. She turned around and narrowed her eyes on her mother, "Am I really? Honestly mother, after all we've been through can you still call me a child? Because I can't and the moment you realize I'm not a child – maybe, just maybe we'll get somewhere!"

Melody then slammed the door closed; haste fully locked it and then darted on to her bed. She stood up on her knees and opened the window, almost as if she were never going to see the light of day again. Once the window was open, she jumped out and started heading towards Jim's house.

"_He needs to get me out of here! I-I can't stay here anymore."_

**A/N: Well guys this chapter was just filled with cliff-hangers, wasn't it? Don't worry, I promise I'll write a lot more A-SAP! Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to read this – you guys are the best readers/reviewers ever! Happy Holidays! Until next chapter everyone…**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey everyone! I want to give a super big and warm shout out to Avril Lambert, Ribbon95, and my best friend Demi Brackensick. You three are the absolute best; I hope you guys realize that! I also want to thank my readers because this story would be nowhere without you guys! Enjoy chapter 8…**

"Jim, please open up? Jim! Jim, please open the door?" Melody begged as she felt more tears begin to roll down her cheeks. She tried her best to wipe a few away but she knew it would be pointless, after all her cheeks were probably already tear stained, considering how much she had cried on the way to his house.

Immediately Jim opened up and the second he saw how distraught his girlfriend was he was going to speak up, but she before he knew it – she had her arms wrapped his torso in a tight hug. So instead of speaking he hugged her back, he could practically hear her heart – _thump, thump, thump, thump…_

It was fragile…

She was even more fragile…

Jim looked down into her eyes and in a soothing tone he whispered, "What happened? Did he touch you? Was it something he said to your mother? Did you see something bad again?"

She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She didn't know where her voice had run off to or even if she still had one but the point is, it wasn't there anymore. No matter how hard she tried to speak or even whimper, she just couldn't. Perhaps she felt too safe in his arms? Maybe she didn't feel safe at all?

He took a mental note of the fear in his eyes. He also took a mental note of how horrified she looked, she might as well have been trembling "My mom's in the kitchen, she's probably wondering who I'm talking to. Why don't you quietly head upstairs and I'll meet you up there in a bit?"

Melody nodded her head as she let out a deep breath. She felt so cold – why on God's Earth was it so cold? Why was it that everyone around her felt or acted frigid? Except Jim, he always felt warm to her.

She placed a fragile kiss on his sensitive cheek and then started tip-toeing up the staircase, and then down the hallways towards his bedroom. Melody didn't feel safe in his home, no she didn't go to his house for the comfort of a home. She only felt safe in his arms, she only felt like she belonged when he kissed her. Only then did Melody feel loved, truly loved…

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

_Sixteen year old Megara sat upon a large, grass covered hill. Lurking above her was an enormous apple tree, and the wind couldn't have been offering her a better breeze. _

_She smiled at the sun as the wind playfully tugged on her hair. She loved the morning air, almost as much as she loved the morning sunrises "What do you think is beyond the horizon? What do you think waits for us out there?"_

_Adam, her boyfriend of three weeks immediately jumped out of the tree with an apple at hand. He then sat down, pretzel style and took a bite out of his cherry-red colored apple, "Who knows? Besides, since when have you cared about what's out there?"_

"_Since I got a stepfather," Meg told him bitterly with a bit of a harsh look in her eyes "it used to be just my mom and me. But now it's my mom, my stepsister, my stepdad, and then me. I'm last for everything now-a-days."_

"_At least you have a dad."_

_She felt a sense of guilt take over and suddenly silence began to impregnate the air. She shook her head, mentally scolding herself for ever bringing anything up. Family was a touchy subject for him and bringing it up had been a stupid mistake, "You're right…I'm sorry. It's just, I'm not used to having-"_

"_Having to share everything with an annoying stepsister?" Adam questioned as he tried to finish her sentence. Unfortunately, he had guessed wrong and instead of getting a playful annoyed look from Meg – he got a well-deserved punch in the shoulder. _

_Meg merely shook her head, "I was going to say that I'm not used to having a man in my house but that too. Anyways, the point is I don't want to stay here anymore. I don't trust him; something about him just spells trouble."_

"_Are you sure you're not just being your paranoid self?" he asked with a worried expression. He didn't want her jumping to conclusions – assumptions usually only got people in trouble._

_She clenched her fists and with a fiery determination in her eyes, she nodded her head, "I'm sure of it Adam! Just watch – he's going to mess up and when he does…I'm going to do something about it."_

_Adam held back a chuckle as he placed a warm kiss on her cheek, "Just promise me you'll be careful."_

_Meg fought back a blush as the fiery determination in her eyes began to die down a bit, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine…"_

"_I kind of have to," he reminded her with a charismatic grin "I'm your boyfriend."_

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

"You can't honestly tell me you don't remember that?" Adam exclaimed as he clenched his fists in anger. For the past fifteen minutes Meg and him, had been going back and forth about what they _used _to have.

Meg rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms in frustration. She could not believe he was still fixed up on that. Her life in the village had been years ago, she had moved on – she had been forced to move on "I don't know what the big deal is? If I remember correctly, you are the one who broke up with me, right?"

He crossed his arms and looked away in shame. He couldn't look into her eyes; he wouldn't look into her eyes "I shouldn't have done that. It was a stupid mistake; you were the best thing that had ever happened to me. I thought if I found you, that you'd-"

"That I'd what? Go back to you! Fall head over heels for you! I'm sorry Adam but I'm not that girl anymore, I haven't been _that _girl for years! She's gone, she died e her mother," she screamed, she was beyond outrage. How dare he just pop into her life and expect her to love him again!

Adam tried his best to hug her but she unforgivingly pushed him away, "Meg I'm sorry! Please don't do this? At least let me, be your friend again? I thought you were dead, for years I thought you were dead!"

"Why?"

He looked dumb-founded; what did she mean _why_? It had been her plan, right? Hadn't that been what she had told the other girl to do? He tilted his head to the side and began to explain, "Isn't that what you had told Aurora? You told her to tell everyone that you girls were dead! And since you're alive, I'm assuming so is your stepsister."

"Sister," she corrected with an icy glare "she's my sister. She stopped being my stepsister when we ran away."

Adam felt his eyes widen a bit. Who was this girl? Who was she and what had she done with his best friend? Why was she so…so… emotionless! She seemed unsympathetic, and aloof almost distant and it killed him. He wanted his friend back, he wanted his girlfriend back "Meg this isn't you! I thought you hated your stepsister!"

"Yeah well, you also thought I was dead! You also thought I'd actually have romantic feelings for you! I have a boyfriend Adam, and we're perfectly happy together. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find him. You're more than welcomed to follow me back to town but once we get there," Meg was fuming with anger and confusion and perhaps a bit of anger "get out of my way."

She then stood up from where she was standing and started walking back into the forest. However she was forced to stop mid-way because she started hearing…growling? Meg felt her eyes widen in fear, she instantly spun around to warn Adam about the creature but to her surprise – in his place, was the wolf. Her jaw dropped from the…the…shock?

Meg instantly placed her hand over her opened mouth as she tried her best to stop shaking. She could barely stand straight. He was the wolf…Adam was the wolf! She nervously took a few steps back but this only made the creature roar, "Please don't hurt me? A-Adam I'm sorry!"

But it was too late, for Adam was no longer there. Instead, in his place stood a creature that was gigantic, with thick brown fur, hauntingly clear blue eyes, devilish dark brown bull-like horns, and dangerously sharp fangs. The wolf…this beast, had huge paws with claws so sharp it put daggers themselves to shame.

Without any hesitation she turned and ran for the woods. Meg wanted nothing more but to have Hercules by her side, "_I-I screwed up…"_

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

Ariel shot Eugene a bit of a hopeful expression, "So you feel it to? You feel…trapped?"

Although Eugene wanted to tell her no – he couldn't lie to her. Not because he'd be lying to _her _specifically but because he knew if there were anyone he could be honest with about such a touchy topic – it was someone who could relate, "I used to be the kingdom's most wanted thief. My life as Flynn Rider was a breeze, and now I'm a prince."

She could somewhat understand. But she had been a princess under the sea, so being a princess on land wasn't too different, "I used to be a mermaid. I actually still am in fact."

"What?"

Ariel faintly smiled as she took a few steps back, and then started darting towards the wave. Feeling the water against her feet felt like heaven, she knew what she was doing was dangerous but she had to show him. Without any hesitation she dove into the water with a bright smile on her face.

Eugene tried running after her, considering how strong the current was but what he saw next completely and utterly amazed him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, "Ariel?"

The young red-head princess now wore a purple seashell bikini top, with a beautifully scaly green tail. She still looked the same from the waist up, well he assumed she did – he hadn't ever seen her unclothed – but everything from the waist down was breathtakingly different. The shocked expression on his face made her smile and then when his jaw dropped, she couldn't help but laugh as she gently swished her tail in the water.

He crouched down to the ground and put his hand out for hers, "You're a mermaid…you're a mermaid…you're actually a mermaid."

Ariel nodded her head in agreement, she finally felt free but she knew that if she didn't get away now – they'd get her, "Now you know! Rapunzel knows as well but I didn't actually show her. I only transform when I touch seawater."

"Good to know…" Eugene chuckled; she was one of the most beautiful sea creatures he had ever seen. Not more gorgeous than blondie, but still she was pretty stunning…

She threw hair back as she took a minute to enjoy the refreshing, cold water. Sometimes it was hard to believe that these waters were the same waters she had grown up in, "I have to go. Tell Rapunzel that I'll be back by nightfall but if I'm not back, I'll be back first thing in the morning."

"Wait – what? Ariel what's wrong? Why do you look so scared?" He inquired as he softly grabbed ahold of her hand. It was an odd sensation – she felt so normal and yet she couldn't have looked more majestic.

Ariel looked up at the sky, the clouds were coming together and they were getting darker by the minute. It would be here soon, it would come to claim her. She shook her head as she tried her best to lie with ease, "No, everything is fine. Just make sure you tell her what I just told you. Promise me you'll pass on the message?"

Eugene nodded his head as he felt a shiver go up his spine. The wind was picking up and the he had a feeling a storm was coming. He took a minute to study the ocean, the waves seemed to be moving faster and he had a feeling they were going to start to violently crash against the shore, "I promise. But you need to promise me you'll be careful? There's something out there, isn't it?"

She simply ignored his question, he had already promised to keep her secret and that was all she needed to know. She turned around and began to swam deeper into the sea. The current was picking up and Ariel was terrified that _she devil _was going to get to her.

Ariel's tail might as well have been going at the speed light, considering how fast she was swimming. In a blink of an eye she was already a mile or so away from the shore, away from Eugene – away from the kingdom!

"_Oh if I don't swim fast enough, she's going to catch on. I just hope she didn't see me with Eugene, I really hope she didn't see me," _she thought to herself with tears in her eyes. She knew that if she didn't go away fast enough, that awful witch would go after her loved ones. There was no questioning that – that demon was the devil in the flesh.

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

"Vanessa dear, are you okay?"

Vanessa flinched a bit – he had caught her off guard but she wasn't afraid of him. She knew now that she was pregnant; he wouldn't lay a hand on her. She stared into his eyes, her own eyes were both red and puffy, "Melody…she's r-run away. She stormed out of here furious at me for being pregnant."

She looked down into the mug which was in her hands. At the moment she was drinking tea, she thought the tea would calm her nerves but so far it had done her no good whatsoever.

Gaston immediately sat down next to her and he lovingly wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He placed a warm kiss on her tender cheek as he tried his best to console her, "Don't worry Vanessa, she'll be back soon. She's been an only child for years. We can't just expect her to right away warm up with the idea of having a sibling, can we?"

"No," Vanessa sighed as an ill-fated frown graced her features "I suppose we can't. But still she – she shouldn't have just run off like that. I tried talking to her but she was so livid. It was near to impossible; you should've seen her Gaston."

He rapidly took note of the tears which were streaming down her cheek and he caressingly wiped them from her face, "Please don't cry dear? A lovely woman, like you shouldn't be crying. Please perk up, I'm sure the last thing the baby wants to hear is _his _mother crying?"

She nodded her head as a faint smile replaced the frown. She loved seeing him like this. She loved it when he was actually considerate of her feelings, "I love you Gaston. You do know that…don't you?"

"Of course do. Just like you're aware of how much I love you, right?" Gaston questioned and being the good wife she is – she nodded in response.

Vanessa looked up into his eyes and she immediately allowed herself to fall for the façade. Without any hesitation she wrapped arms around his neck and pulled him into a passionately loving kiss. A few moments passed but she didn't stop kissing him until his tongue found hers. Once that happened, she finally parted "I will always love you Gaston."

"I have always loved you," he whispered as he firmly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a loving kiss. Now these two kisses were very special, for these two kisses specifically were not only gentle but they were also affectionate. Two things Gaston hadn't been for the past twelve years…

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

"I hate you!" Jim barked as he walked into his room and slammed the door. He then turned around and locked it, wondering why he even bothered with his mother anymore. He was boiling with anger but the second he turned around and saw Melody sitting on the edge of his bed, looking more helpless then ever – his anger subsided.

Melody let out another painfully sharp breath. She had flinched a bit when the door slammed and when she noticed how upset her boyfriend looked, she tried her best to sympathize even though she herself was a mess of nerves "W-what did your m-mother do this time?"

He shook his head, not wanting to talk nor think about it. Besides he had bigger – more important things to worry about, "It doesn't matter. What does, matter though is _you_. You are the only thing that matters to me Melody. Now tell me, what happened to you? I've never seen you so hurt before."

She looked away from him as she tried her best to fight back more tears. She placed her hand on her cheek, wondering why the pain had yet to decrease "She's pregnant Jim. She's pregnant and she's happy about it. It's like she's completely forgotten about what he's done to her…what he's done to _me_…"

Jim sat down next to her and amorously wrapped his arms around her shoulder. He pulled her into a warm hug and placed a comforting kiss on her head, "It's going to be okay Melody. You're never going to have to go back there again."

Melody shook her head at thought of never returning. She'd have to go back; it wasn't like she could just not show up again, "Jim I know the plan is to run away but right now isn't a good time. They need to think everything is fine, then one random night…I'll leave and never come back."

"No. I care about you too much to let you go back there, Melody. I'm not stupid, it'll only get worse from here on out," he explained as he tried her best to coax her back into her comfort zone.

She once again shook her head, usually she'd push him away but right now she needed this. She needed to know he was on her side; she needed to know that not everyone in the world was against her, "I'll be more than glad to spend the night with you but I can't run away with you. Not yet at least…I promise I will eventually, but not yet."

Jim let out a tired sigh, for now he'd have to settle with her rules. After all, the last thing he wanted was for her to pull away for good, "Fine. I suppose just knowing you'll be spending the night with me, well, it'll help me sleep a little easier tonight."

Melody perked up a bit and she instantly kissed his cheek, "I think you mean: you suppose just knowing I'll be spending the night with you, well, it'll help _us _sleep a little easier tonight. We will be sharing a bed together, won't we?"

His ears perked up a bit and he blushed a bit. He was usually a shy guy but he guessed that's another reason why he loved her so much – she was so much more outgoing and headstrong then he was, "S-sure thing Melody, whatever makes you more comfortable."

She couldn't help but giggle and blush in return, "I love you."

"I will always love you…"

Overall she was much spunkier, and in their case opposites truly attracted. However at the end of the day, they really weren't that different after all…

**A/N: And that my dears – is what I call a wrap! Anyways thank you so much for taking the time to read this! By the time you guys read this Christmas will probably be over but if it isn't – then, well, Merry Christmas! And for those who don't celebrate it – Happy Holidays! Until next chapter everyone…**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey guys! Happy Super Late New Year's everyone! Sorry it's taken me forever and a day to update, the holidays were extremely busy for me and as you guys know – school has been an issue since day one for me. Also if that weren't bad enough, I recently came down with a nasty case of writers block so it took me a while to get over that! Anyways I want to give a big, warm shout out to Avril Lambert, Ashgirl17, Ribon95, and my best friend Demi Brackensick for reviewing! You guys are the best – no question about it. The same goes for my wonderful readers – thank you so much, guys! Enjoy chapter 9…**

Megara continued to run through the forest, not daring to stop for a second as her feet practically pounded against the forest floor. She felt frigid, her heart was pounding against her chest and she could nearly smell the wolf.

Even now, the shock hadn't worn off and she was still having trouble believing that the blood-thirsty that was chasing right now, had been the same boy she had fallen in love with all those years ago. How could this be? It wasn't humanly possible, or was it?

She wasn't sure of a lot of things at the moment. All she knew was that she _needed _to get to safety. She kept on darting through the woods, ducking under branches as she tried to look for some kind of shelter or cave to hide in.

That's when she noticed it, almost as if it had luring her. She hadn't even noticed it until now. She smirked at herself; she couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before.

At the moment the young Grecian woman was standing right under the tallest tree in the forest. Hiding in it was the easy part; the challenging part of the situation was climbing it. She knew that the Beast was probably hot on her heels, and if she didn't hurry then she'd become Wolf food.

Without any hesitation she started up the tree, and then once she felt as if she had climbed high enough, she jumped onto a large branch. It was thick and bulky, it was hefty enough for her to sit on but it wasn't that long. She'd only be able to stay on it for so long until she'd start getting uncomfortable.

Meg looked down at the ground, she could see the wolf coming closer and she began to slightly panic. She closed her eyes, and got into the fetal position for comfort. All she wanted was to go back home, even if she wasn't sure where home was.

"_I'm so sorry Adam…"_

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

Ariel leisurely swam beneath the crystal, blue waters. Her fiery, red colored hair flowing as her scaly, green tail swayed with every movement she made. She was a mermaid in all her glory, and although she also made a gorgeous human – she had been born a mermaid. Therefore her features were vibrant underwater, her beauty practically lit up the dark seas she swam in.

"Well, look who decided to come home?"

Immediately the sixteen year old spun around, a petrified expression graced her features as she backed away a bit. She swallowed the nervous lump in her throat as she tried her best to speak. How could she have been so careless? She should've been more careful! Instead she had decided to go for a relaxed swim, and now she'd have to pay the consequences for it.

The creature slithered out from the shadows. The octopus-like woman smirked as she noticed the mermaid's eye go wide from the fear; she let out a bitter chuckle, "What's a matter princess – cat got your tongue?"

The octopus of a woman had white colored hair, with gray eyes, and bright ruby-red lips. She had lavender skin, aqua eyelids, and she wore purple seashell earrings. Her maliciously sharp fingernails were polished in red, pimple on her face, black strapless chest plate which showed both her giant breast cleavage and bare back. But worst of all, around her neck she wore a necklace with a seashell pendant.

Ariel placed her hand over her throat, she was trying her best to remain brave and emotionless but it was just so difficult. Just the very sight of the golden, sea-shell pendant brought back far too many memories "You don't scare me Ursula! I won't let you, do this to me anymore! You aren't Queen, you will never be-"

Before she had the chance to finish her sentence, the young princess was soon cut off by the sound of her own gasp as she felt Ursula pull her in closer.

The young red-head hated the feeling of an enormous, slimy tentacle wrapped around her waist but she was no match for it. So all she could do was squirm as she tried to wiggle her way free, "Let me go! I am ordering you to let me go!"

"Poor little princess," the sea-witched mocked as she held a golden trident against the girl's necklace "you were a fool for thinking you could defeat me once. Now that you actually think you can do it again, well it's just pathetic!"

Ariel cringed when she felt the sharp points of the trident touch her neck. The fact that it was glowing, it petrified her, and what made it worse was that Ursula actually had the trident! It wasn't her, "That's my daddy's trident! You have no right to be touching it or using it, and you certainly have no right to be threatening me with it!"

Without any hesitation Ursula slapped the mermaid across her face. Now there was an actual frown on the sea-witch's face, the look in her eyes made her look insane. Or perhaps it was the scowl?

Nevertheless, she clutched on to the weapon for dear life as she threw Ariel on to the ground, "You disgusting, brat! You were a fool for coming back and you were a fool for hiding. Tell me princess, where on Earth did you run off too?"

The red-headed mermaid looked up, she placed her hand on her cheek – the sting which the smack left didn't make life any easier. She was furious but she knew that if she weren't careful with her words, she'd be endangering everyone "It's none of your business! And I only came back for one reason and one reason only."

"And what reason is that?"

Ariel looked up into the monster's eyes, for just a second her voice had run off. She didn't one nor did she own one but just the very thought of her reason, it brought her courage out. She cleared her throat, clenched her fists, and without any hesitation – she said, "I came back for my sisters!"

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

The feeling which he gave her sometimes was almost scary. The emotion she received when he was on top of her, it was thrilling and yet terrifying. She smiled as he claimed her lips in another passionate kiss, and once he was over – he then sat up.

Melody's face lit up like a Christmas tree as she let out small gasp once their lips parted, "I love how every kiss is always a little better than the last!"

Jim bit down on his bottom lip, subtly nodding his head in agreement "Well you know me, always trying to please?"

She laughed as she shook her head playfully. The young girl then looked up at the ceiling and after a few minutes of just staring – a thought occurred "Oh my goodness! I haven't seen Jane or Alice in forever!"

He glanced over at his girlfriend, wondering why she looked so worried "Well, it's not as if you've been avoiding them. You're life has just been busy Melody, with all that's been going on I find it amazing that you have time for me in general."

The twelve-year-old smirked as she placed a sweet peck on his cheek, "You know I'll always have time for you! But anyways, it doesn't matter if I've been busy or not. The point is I haven't seen them, and if I don't go see them soon – they'll probably think I'm ignoring them or something."

It took her boyfriend only a few seconds to comprehend what was going on. He shot her a raised eyebrow expression, and then queried "You never told them about your home life, did you?"

Melody sighed as she shook her in disappointment. It wasn't that she didn't trust them – she did, those girls were her best friends. It's just…the fear of being treated differently could just be so overwhelming. Even the thought of her friend's just looking at her another way, worried her "I meant to. I really did mean too but the perfect time just never came around? We were always either in a crowded space or the moment just…wasn't right?"

"Yeah," Jim nodded – remaining completely skeptical, he knew the real reason why Melody kept her home life a secret, "I'm sure _that's _why you never told them."

The dark-haired girl crossed her arms, immediately getting defensive about the situation "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing," he reassured her as he continued to sway his feet back and forth "why don't you got right now? I'm pretty sure I have some chores to do, and the last thing I want is for you to be stuck up here all day with nothing to do."

Melody nodded her head at the thought, "Sure! Just one problem – how do you suppose I get out of the house without your mother noticing?"

"The window," Jim smirked as he walked over to the window, opening it for her to jump out of "just slide down the roof and make sure you land on your feet. You'll be on the ground before you know it."

The twelve-year-old was hesitant at first but she soon realized that the window truly was her only way out. So, using all the courage she had, Melody closed her eyes and then jumped out the window. She cautiously slid down the roof, and then agilely landed on her feet.

She then looked up, shooting her boyfriend a smirk as she blew him a kiss and then started to run down the street. She was rather excited to see her friends; she had so much to tell them…

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

"I don't know Aladdin? I mean, Meg and Herc should've been back last night and if not last night then at least by this morning! I'm worried for them," Jasmine confessed as she continued pace around the hideout.

Aladdin on the other hand was eating apple, calmly sitting on the ground as he shrugged it off "Jasmine I'm sure they just decided to stay at Inn, and well – you know…"

The young girl fought back a blush as she shook her head, "No Aladdin, you know Meg. She wouldn't just do something like that, she knows I worry. And besides they didn't take any money with them."

"Are you sure they didn't?"

Jasmine took his question into consideration, she hadn't actually checked but she had assumed that they hadn't. Perhaps they had and she just hadn't noticed? She immediately made her way over to the bags of money, and she carefully counted about each and every coin.

The dark-haired man noticed how stressed out his girlfriend was getting, and he didn't like it. Once he finished eating his apple, he threw the core out on the streets and then stood back up to confront her, "Jasmine I'm sure they're fine. Really, you have nothing to worry about."

Instead of listening to her boyfriend, she completely ignored him and when she finished counting the money – she only sighed when she realized that he was right. A few coins were missing but not enough to rent a room for a night, "Well Aladdin you're right on some level. There's money missing but not enough to get a room at an Inn."

"Maybe it was a really cheap Inn? Hey, you never know and if you ask me, we have nothing to worry about," Aladdin comforted her as he placed a tender kiss on her cheek.

Jasmine nodded her head as she wrapped her arms around him, trying her best to just stay calm. She hated when she got like this but it was in her nature to worry. Meg had always been such a wild child even though she had been the oldest, and Jasmine had always been the one to make sure Meg didn't get too over her head.

"You know what you need," he started with a mischievous glint in his eyes "you need a distraction! And I know just what to do!"

She rolled her eyes as she playfully shook her head. That being said, she still listened with the utmost interest "And what do suppose I do, exactly?"

"Well, we could go for a walk through the town? But that also could be a bit boring," Aladdin sighed as he tries his best to think of distractions "or maybe we could-"

"Help, somebody help please! Somebody, anybody just please help?"

Instantly both Aladdin and Jasmine ran out of the hideout, and haste fully darted towards the direction shriek. In a blink of an eye they were both running down a shabby alley, and once they reached the end – that is when they saw a woman on the ground, crying. It appeared that she was sitting over something…or someone?

Jasmine carefully approached the woman, and the first thing she did was softly place her hand on the woman's shoulder, "Shhh everything is going to be alright. We're going to help you, my name's Jasmine and this is my boyfriend Aladdin. What's your name?"

The woman had fair skin, beautiful bluish-green colored eyes, light orange hair, and she wore a simple pink colored dress. It wasn't anything too formal nor was it anything too shabby.

The woman had tear stains on her cheeks, and she could barely breathe let alone talk, "My names G-Giselle. Please, you have to help me! My brother, he's dying and I have no idea what to do!"

Aladdin and Jasmine were both about to ask her where her brother was but then she moved out of the way, and that is when they could both see him on the floor. His body looked cold, and he was pale as winter snow. He was lying in a pool red, and his face was covered by his blonde hair.

As realization dawned on the dark-haired girl, she quickly placed her hand over her opened mouth to help her recoil from the shock "Oh my God John! Aladdin, we have to help him!"

Her boyfriend was quick on his feet as he sprang into action. First he grabbed John by the arms, and then watched as Giselle automatically grabbed the man by his legs. They then both carried him out of the alley, and Aladdin then led Giselle towards the hideout.

Jasmine followed them, knowing exactly where they were headed too. They had all sorts of medical bandages at the hideout, and wrapping John up would be child's play. However the matter of fact was that John himself was losing a lot of blood, "Giselle what on Earth happened?"

The young girl looked frantic, just having to carry her brother made her stomach turn and twist in all kinds of ways, "W-we had been going home, t-taking a short cut through the alley, w-when a man approached us. He tried hurting me, John intervened…t-the b-brute pulled out a knife, and then…I didn't know what to do? I froze, and just…I couldn't move and by the time I could speak again, he already was out cold."

Aladdin shot Giselle a sympathetic expression, he sincerely felt bad for the girl "Don't worry Giselle – he's going to be okay, I promise you."

Jasmine couldn't react or say anything else. All she could do was continue to stare at John. The color in his face was gone, and the red just wouldn't stop pouring out of him! It was terrible to say the least.

She gently placed her hand on his cheek, and in a hushed tone she whispered "You're not going to die. I'm not going to let you go that easily…"

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

Eugene carefully sneaked in through the back as he quietly tried to make his way back into the palace. He was exhausted, and even though it was only noon – he felt that if he didn't get any sleep, he wouldn't be able to move on.

_"I used to be a mermaid. I actually still am in fact."_

He knew there had been something different about the princess. But never in a million years had he expected that! She was part-fish for God's sake and just didn't seem natural. That being said, he was usually good at handling the weird and unnatural things about life. After all his true love had been born with golden, magical hair!

_"I have to go. Tell Rapunzel that I'll be back by nightfall but if I'm not back, I'll be back first thing in the morning."_

Where had she run off to anyways? He hadn't the slightest clue, and the curiosity was truly getting to him. Eugene had never seen a mermaid before, and so Ariel certainly was a mystery. In fact the young man had been so lost in his thoughts, that he hadn't even realized that he had ended up stumbling into his bedroom.

Rapunzel had been sitting on their bed, lost in a book and if it hadn't been expecting to see Ariel any minute now – she wouldn't have noticed her husband coming in. Either way, his presence put a bright smile on her face "Eugene, I haven't seen you all day today! I've missed you sweetie!"

Eugene was quickly sent crashing back into reality, and that's when he looked up and smiled at his wife "I've missed you too blondie. So, what are you doing here?"

"Well I was waiting for Ariel but she never came. So I assume she's just running late, and I decided I'd read until she got here," the young brunette explained as she placed her novel down on the nightstand.

His smile faltered at the mention of Ariel – she just had looked so scared before. He wanted to help her but she was panicking, and there was nothing he could do. He pushed these thoughts aside as he tried his best to maintain a nonchalant conversation, "I'm sure she's probably just going for a swim. Did she tell you?"

"That she was a mermaid? Yeah she did, and I think it's really cool! I mean I read about mermaids the day we went to the library and," Rapunzel's face lit up like a Christmas tree as she reminisced on those warm summer days "they just sounded so interesting! And Ariel is a very pretty princess; she really does look like a mermaid."

"I guess so?"

Suddenly a thought occurred, and the young princess blushed as she recalled the conversation she had shared with her mother earlier. She shook her head, wondering whether or not she should actually bring it up "Um Eugene…can I talk to you about something? B-but you have to promise not to laugh."

"Sure," Eugene told her in a reassuring tone, "you know you can talk to me about anything."

Rapunzel bit down on her bottom lip, nodding ever so slowly as she tried her best to find the courage to speak up. She cleared her throat, and eventually she built up the courage to say "When do you think we'll have children?"

He stiffened a bit at her question, his eyes went a bit wide but he was trying his best to stay calm. The thought of actually having children scared him but not for the reason you'd think, "I um…I don't know? I mean I know the other day I was joking about making an heir but we just got married. Don't you think it's a little early?"

The young princess shook her head as she continued on, "You see earlier today, momma and I were talking about being a royal and all, and then she brought up the subject of children. She told me that it would be normal if I felt nervous or even a little scared, but she also said that it had to be done. That the kingdom needed an heir."

"Right," Eugene nodded as he felt a subtle blush take over "well that makes sense…I guess? I mean we have to have children sometime, right? It's required by law that we do."

Rapunzel nodded her head as she tried her best to relax her husband by placing a tender kiss on his cheek, "Please don't feel nervous about it. Momma said there was no need to worry now, I mean we just got married – we have time…at least for now we do."

The young man shook his head; just the thought of settling down scared him a bit. Flynn Rider never could nor did he ever want to settle down. If he had an urge to fulfill, he'd flirt with a local girl and then before he knew it – he was on top of her. Eugene Fitzherbert on the other hand was much different…

He hadn't even realized how long he was taking, "Blonde it's fine, really I'm fine. It's just…I don't want us rushing into this. You're really wrong now, and a baby is a lot of responsibility. I know for a fact that we'd make wonderful parents, I just don't think we're ready at the moment."

"I understand," Rapunzel told him as she nervously placed a strand of hair behind her earlobe "I mean just a few weeks ago I didn't know intimate was a word. Let alone an action, I'm just so new to all of _it_."

Eugene felt at his body stiffened a bit at the mention of intimacy. Sometimes she was just too much for him; she was just so adorable and innocent. And yet she wasn't, she was a grown woman and she was capable of so much, "You know I love you, right blondie?"

"Of course," she nodded as she studied her husband carefully "I love you too!"

"And you know I'd do anything for you, right?" He faintly smirked as he scooted closer to her. His eyes immediately darkened a bit with lust and suddenly a light flickered on. His love slowly mixed with the lust he felt for, making his eyes look brighter than ever.

Rapunzel nodded her head as she bit her bottom lip; she loved it when his eyes darkened and then somehow managed to light up. She had seen it once on their wedding night, and now she was seeing it again – she silently gasped at the sight, "I know…"

"Then let me show you," he whispered as he got a bit closer and then softly wrapped his arms around her waist "let me show you how much I love you. How much I need you."

All she could do was nod her head. She bit down on her bottom lip as she felt him gently lay her down on their bed. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she felt him place his hand on her thigh.

Eugene smirked as he claimed her lips in a passionate kiss, "Don't be scared blondie, I'm not going to hurt you."

"I know you're not," Rapunzel gasped as she felt his hand travel up her thigh, and before she knew it her cheeks were burning from the sudden rush of emotion "I love you."

"I love you too…"

**A/N: And that everyone is what I call a wrap! Once again, I am so sorry it took me forever to update! I've just been buried under school work, and to be honest – this chapter would've been uploaded hours ago but school work, which I've been doing all weekend, has got in the way. Anyways thanks so much for taking the time to read this, you guys are the best! Until next chapter everyone…**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey guys! So before I begin I'd like to give a big, warm shout out to: Avril Lambert, Suzerenma, and my best friend Demi Brackensick for reviewing! You guys are the best and I have no idea where the story would be without you guys! I also want to thank my wonderful readers for taking the time to read my story! You guys just make my day – I swear! I also want to apologize for taking so long, I've literally been drowning in my school work and I've had little to no time for anything lately besides school. I hope you guys can forgive me, and I'm really sorry that I made you guys wait so long! Now, without any further ado – enjoy chapter 10…**

"Foolish little mermaid," Ursula taunted as she gripped on to Ariel's wrist "did you honestly believe it would be this easy? Did you really think you could just take me down, without even trying?"

Ariel was trying her best to pull away; her fiery-red hair was flowing everywhere as she pulled back with all her force. She spoke through clenched teeth with a determined look in her eyes, she didn't dare show fear "You don't scare me Ursula! You were born out of darkness, and eventually you'll die in darkness!"

"You always were a nuisance," the sea-witch muttered as she continued to drag Ariel towards the now black and purpled colored castle "perhaps this time I'll get rid of you, once and for all?"

The young princess felt her jaw drop when she saw her former home. It looked so different, and it almost brought tears to her eyes. The determination in her eyes vanished for a second, her heart shattered and her voice was suddenly filled with desperation "What did you do to it? My home! My castle! Where's my father? What did you do to my sisters? Why did you do this?"

Ursula glared down at the girl, she let go of the princess – just so she could wrap one of her tentacles around Ariel's slender waist, "You know very well why I did this! If your dear old daddy hadn't banished me all those years ago, then perhaps this wouldn't have happened! You have no one to blame but him!"

Ariel blinked back a few tears, looking away from the sea-witch. She wasn't about to let the monster see her cry, "Where is everyone?"

"All of your father's subjects ran away," the she-devil explained as she started, making her way towards the palace "even your two sidekicks managed to get away as well. They all just vanished, everyone except your father and your sisters managed to get away."

The sixteen-year-old studied her surroundings carefully. From what she remembered, the waters around her home used to practically glisten. Atlantica used to be full of life, and love. There used to be music as well but all of that was gone now.

The waters around her home were shaded a dull-gray, there wasn't any sight of life for miles, and the only love which was being shown was Ursula's love for power. This only made her frown and a few tears escaped her eyes but she didn't let her enemy see.

Ursula carefully approached the front gates, snapping her fingers which made the black, colored gates – instantly fly open. She entered the castle with ease, Ariel was still tight in her tentacle's grasp and she couldn't help but smirk, "You really should stop fighting princess. You might be safe on land but under here, I am Queen – I am the bigger fish! And you are just a useless, pathetic piece of-"

Without any hesitation Ariel managed to slap Ursula across the face, making sure her nails left a deep mark on the sea-witch's cheek. Then before the monster had a chance to react, the princess forcefully squirmed out of the octopus's grip – practically flying through the dark waters.

The sixteen-year-old wanted nothing more but to turn around. She wanted to go free her sister's and father but right now wasn't the moment. Ariel was suddenly hit with a pang of guilt, this was all her fault. If only she had stayed behind perhaps things would've turned out differently…

"You can run my dear princess but you cannot hide! I will find you, I will always find you!"

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

John's baby-blue colored eyes instantly fluttered open; the first thing he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling. He gasped for breath, his body automatically sitting up as he gradually started remembering things "Giselle!"

Jasmine (who had been sitting on the edge of the bed, the whole time) flinched when John not only unexpectedly woke up but started screaming out of the blue. The young brunette calmly scooted closer, placing both of her hands on his shoulders "John – John it's, okay! Please don't' scream? Giselle is perfectly safe; you have nothing to worry about."

"J-Jasmine," he hated stuttering but he was trembling and before he knew it, he felt an extremely painful stab in his chest. He placed his hand over the wound and was surprised to see that it was covered in medical gauze. John groaned in pain as he reluctantly lied back down.

She carefully ran her fingers through his blonde-hair, trying her best to keep calm and collective "Do you remember what happened? What you were doing before everything went black?"

John nodded his head as he continued to put pressure on his covered injury, "Giselle and I had been on our way home, and t-then this man tried to attack her. I-I put up a decent fight but it wasn't good enough. He pulled out a knife, and before I knew it I was out cold."

"Well Giselle went back home to tell your sister that you'd be home late, and I had Aladdin escort her in case any shady characters try to approach her. You on the other hand," the brunette sighed as she caringly placed her hand on his forehead "are burning up with a fever."

He frowned at her thoughts, not particularly liking the thought of being on bed rest or having a fever for that matter "Jasmine I appreciate your concern but I'll be fine. Believe me, I've been through worse."

"I know," Jasmine sighed as she rested her head on his chest, trying her best not to put too much pressure on his recently injured body "but you can't blame me for caring. You're a dear friend John, and last time I checked dear friend's look out for one another."

John chuckled and when he felt her place her head on his chest, he stiffened a bit. He hated receiving mix singles but he had a feeling he was just overreacting. However in response he wrapped his arm around her body, pulling her to a warm hug "I promise you that I'll be out of your hair in a bit."

"Believe me John it's no problem at all," Jasmine laughed as she shook her head playfully "you're actually – you're helping me get things off my mind. My sister I mean, she left with her boyfriend the other day and hasn't been back since."

"I'm sure they'll be back soon," he told her comfortingly with a faint reassuring smile on his face "believe me Jasmine – they'll be back before you know it. I'm sure they're just enjoying some together, and decided to make the trip a little longer than expected."

She nodded her head, trying her best to take comfort in his words even though she surprisingly took more comfort in the sound of his voice. She looked up to study his features and she was immediately drawn to his crystal-blue eyes, "Your eyes are beautiful John…"

John blushed as he leaned in a bit closer to Jasmine, his wound immediately started hurting again but at the moment none of that mattered. All he could see was her face, all he could hear was her voice, and all he wanted was her. He knew it was wrong, he knew she had a boyfriend but he didn't frankly care "You're gorgeous Jasmine, you're one of the most stunning girl's I've ever seen…"

Without any hesitation, Jasmine wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tender kiss. It wasn't passionate or steamy – it was just slow and soft, and she was about to pull back. She knew that what she was doing couldn't have been more unfaithful, and guilt was starting to creep inside of her. But then John kissed her back, and she forgot about everyone and everything.

Once realization dawned on them both, they simultaneously pulled away with confused expressions. There were tears in Jasmine's eyes, and the first thing she did was turn around and haste fully dart down the staircase.

John tried following her but his wound got the best of him, and all he could do was frown in defeat as he lied back down with an angered expression.

"Dammit…"

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

Meg was currently sitting high on the tree branch, watching as the beast carefully encircled the tree. She knew that it could smell her; she knew that it could probably hear her as well. But what scared her the most was the fact that it could probably smell her.

"_Please Adam…I need you to fight this thing. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a tree. I'm sorry I rejected you it's just that," _she didn't know how to describe the sudden mix of anger and guilt which had taken root within her "_I have someone else. He's the best guy a girl could have, and now because of you I may never get to apologize."_

Her violet eyes carefully scanned her environment, and that's when she spotted a beehive which was loosely hanging from an adjacent branch. Getting it down would be the easy part, however not getting stung in the process was a challenge "There's got to be some way?"

Meg silently scooted over to the tip of the branch, and when she heard the wolf growl at the smallest sound – she bit down on her bottom lip to suppress a scream. She gradually took off one of her sandals, and then threw it towards the bee hive.

The young woman only watched as the beehive fell off the branch, and on to the ground. The sound of furious bee's buzzing made her feel uncomfortable but when she heard the monster howl in pain, that's when she felt the guilt really begin to settle in.

"_I am so sorry Adam," _she grimaced as she watched the wolf begin to whimper, and before she knew it she was watching the bees chase the beast away "_I hope we cross paths again sometime soon."_

Once she was sure he was gone, Meg skillfully jumped off the branch and faintly smirked when she landed on her feet. She immediately turned around, and started running towards what she hoped would be home.

She wasn't' quite sure where civilization was for the forest itself had meshed in her head overnight. Everything looked the same, and home couldn't have felt farther away. So all Meg could do was run as she continued to hope for the best.

"_I need to get home," _Meg told herself as she managed to stay as silent as possible. She knew that even the slightest snap of a branch could set the wolf off, and she wasn't even sure how far he was anyways.

She just kept on striding through the forest, her heart thumping against her chest as she felt the adrenaline pump through her veins. She began to wonder whether or not the beat of her heart was echoing through the forest as she continued to soundlessly run.

Meg hadn't even been paying attention when she accidently bumped into someone, instantly falling to the ground with a frown on her face. She looked up with an angered expression, and when she realized who it was – her jaw dropped from the shock "Oh my God! H-Herc, please t-tell me that's you?"

At first Hercules couldn't have looked more annoyed but when he saw the fear in his eyes, his features softened. He knelt down beside her, carefully helping her up to get back on her feet "Are you okay Meg? What the hell happened to you?"

She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out at all. Tears were forming in her eyes, and the only thing she could do was drape her arms around him in a tight hug. When he hugged her back, more tears continued to spill from her eyelids.

Eventually she pulled back, and she tried her best to choke out an explanation "Let's just say there's a wolf chasing me but I managed to outsmart it. But Herc it's still out there and I have no idea how to get home from here."

"Don't worry," Hercules whispered as he picked her up bridal style "I know exactly how to get home from here. You don't have to be scared anymore Meg, I'm right here. I am always going to be here for you…"

"I know," Meg muttered in response as she placed a tender kiss on his cheek "I'm so sorry for fighting with you before. I-I'd love you to run away with you Herc. Nothing would make me happier; I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

His jaw slightly dropped at her answer, he wasn't quite sure if he believed her "That's great news Meg but why the sudden change?"

"Well if there's anything I've realized through of all of us," she let out a sigh of relief as the guilt slowly began to fade away "I don't want to live the rest of my life, regretting that I let you become the one who got away. I want to be with you Herc – I really do want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Even, if it means losing your sister in the process?"

Meg looked away from him as she progressively pondered the question. She could still hear her mother's voice, no matter how hard she tried to forget it – the voice just didn't leave her. But if Adam's sudden revival had taught her anything, it's that she wanted the past to be just that – the past. She didn't want it, holding her back or trying to teach her things she already knew.

She snuggled up against his chest, nodding her with a faint smile "Yes, even if it means losing my sister in the process. Just…just promise me one thing?"

"Anything," he grinned as he continued to carry her through the woods.

Meg contently sighed as she spoke up in a hushed tone, "Promise me that we won't move too far from Jasmine and Aladdin. That we'll always be near them? I can't just lose her Hercules, she's my sister and I love her more than anything."

"I know," Hercules sighed as he nodded, a bright smile forming on his face "and I promise you that we'll always stay close. Never too far – never too close, it'll be perfect."

"_I hope so,"_ Was all she could think because before Megara knew it, she was fast asleep in his arms. And for once, she couldn't have felt safer.

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

"But Gaston you can't leave," Vanessa frowned as she watched her husband head towards the door "dinner will be ready soon and by the time you're back – it'll be cold."

"Don't worry," Gaston muttered as he opened the door, allowing a cool breeze to enter the house "I'm just going to go see an old friend – I'll be back before you know it."

The brunette opened her mouth to speak but she knew arguing with be fruitless so she quickly closed it. She had just been about to walk over to her husband to kiss him goodbye but before she knew it, the door was slammed shut.

"For Heaven's sake…" Vanessa sighed as she quickly went back to tending to the soup she was cooking. In all honesty the soup was far from being done but her husband rarely left the house and so when he did, it scared her.

But there was nothing she could do. At the end of the day she was just his wife. She wasn't allowed to speak unless spoken to, and her only job was to bear him children. She was powerless, she was weak, and she didn't have a say in anything. And it was like society told her: he was husband and she was wife.

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

Gaston rushed down the staircase and the second he got the chance to turn the corner, he did. He didn't make any eye contact with familiar faces or people who knew him; he just remained silent whilst walking.

What was only a few minutes felt like hours and eventually he froze in place. His eyes carefully looked around, making sure no one was around and when he noticed he was alone – he smirked.

Gaston immediately turned to the side and started walking into an alley which was all too familiar to him. It was a poorly, taken care of alley but with the day light up ahead, he could see it all clearly. It was obvious that this part of town was scarcely ever visited and apart from the corner, the alley looked quite dirty.

As he continued walking down the passage way, the sound of women moaning was unmistakable. He could hear men screaming and cursing aloud as if there were no tomorrow. Once again, these sounds couldn't have been familiar.

Then as he got closer to his destination (which was only a door at the end of the alleyway, which was obviously the entrance to a rather large but beat-down building) the smell of liquor and burnt paper and a bit of tobacco impregnated the air.

Once Gaston reached the door, he knocked on it a few times and waited for it to open. Once the door did open, he shot his old friend a charismatic grin "Clayton, well aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

"Gaston," In Clayton's mouth was a cigarette but he was smiling nonetheless "I'm actually surprised you came. You haven't come in months."

John Clayton was slender and rather muscular as well. He had brown hair with gray sideburns, and he wore a yellow hunter's uniform. He also had a rather unattractive mustache which made him look much older than he actually was. And if it hadn't been any more obvious, Clayton was one of Gaston's hunting buddies.

The dark-haired men shrugged it off as he forced his way into the building, "I've been busy. Where are the others?"

Clayton nodded his head as he casually walked over to the staircase. He then jerked his thumb over to the staircase, "They're upstairs smoking. Everyone's here except Phoebus, he's at home screwing his new wife."

The room they were in at the moment (which was the first floor of the building) was rather large however it was also very dirty. There were various drunken men and naked woman, scrambled across the floor. The room was filled with cushioned sofas and cushioned loveseats as well. There was much smoke in the air which was much like fog, considering how many people were smoking.

Gaston ignored all this however as he made his way up the stairs, and then started striding down the hallway. He looked behind his shoulder, glad that Clayton was following him. If he was going to get _their _help, he wanted all of them to be there.

"_Phoebus is an exception," _he thought to himself as he approached the wooden door "_technically he's not even one of us. We only pretend to be his friends, besides he's hardly ever around anymore. Only when he needs things does he come around."_

When Gaston entered the room, the first thing he heard was the sound of drunken men laughing. The first thing he saw however was a circular table with three men sitting around it. He obviously recognized the men they were his closest friends and drinking buddies.

First there was Sinbad: he was a pirate who joined their group a few weeks after docking in Corona. He had decided he was done with a life of piracy, and had decided that there were other things he wanted to do. He wanted to try a life of crime and then decided once he was done with that, he'd find something else to do.

Next there was Kocoum: he was well-built, with black mow hawked hair which had a white feather on the back of his head. He had tan skin, and a pair of bear prints on his chest. He had been a Native American which Sinbad had managed to kidnap on one of his journeys. The only reason they kept him around was because he was a killer. He was lethal and deadly, and in return for freedom he promised Sinbad that he'd kill whoever and whenever he wanted. Therefore Kocoum had sworn to the group that he'd help kill whoever they wanted him to kill.

After that there was Shang: he (much like all the other members of the group) was muscular, with black hair, natural dark-brown eyes, and tan colored skin. The only reason he stuck with the group was because he was in dire need of the money. His wife and he were struggling financially – she was a waitress at some Inn, and he worked for the group. His wife never asked any questions, and he was grateful because he really didn't have any answers.

Sinbad was the first to look up when he noticed Gaston entering. He gently patted one of the seats next to him, signaling for the hunter to sit down "And you've come why?"

"My daughter's gone missing," Gaston started as he quickly sat down next to Sinbad, he eyed the group of men with caution "and my wife keeps on worrying about her. She's pregnant, and the last thing our unborn son needs is her nerves getting the best of her. Vanessa wouldn't be the first woman to lose a baby from the stress, and she most certainly won't be the last."

"So you want us to what? Find the brat?" Shang inquired, he usually wasn't mean or rude but he knew that if he didn't wear a mask, the other men would smoke him out easily. Although he was physically strong, he did have a heart – he was much kinder than Gaston and much more loyal than Sinbad.

The hunter frowned at the man. Even though he didn't much care for Melody, she was his blood and he wasn't about to have anyone talk poorly of his property "First of all she's my daughter. And second of all, I think I already know where she is. She probably ran off with her dumbass of a boyfriend, he's the kid who works with her mother at the local Inn."

Clayton's ears instantly perked up at the mention of a boyfriend as he sat down next to Kocoum, "So you want us to, what? Kill the kid?"

"Well we aren't going to set the Inn on fire if that's what you want;" Shang interrupted with a gravely serious expression "my wife works at that Inn and if it weren't for that Inn – my wife and I would be living on the streets."

"Calm down Shang, the Inn has nothing to do with this. What I want you guys to do is beat the brat, and then bring him to me," Gaston explained as he licked his lips in thought.

Eventually Clayton, Shang, Sinbad, and even Kocoum shared worried glances. They all understood what this meant. They'd be kidnapping a minor only later to have him killed. That being said they knew that Gaston would pay well and he'd also make it look like a mistake.

They all simultaneously nodded their heads, and then in unison they all whispered:

"Deal…"

**A/N: And that is what I call a wrap! Once again I apologize for the long delay but while writing this chapter I had to take a break because I ran out of inspiration. I hoped you guys enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Until next chapter everyone…**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while everyone, I really am starting to hate school and it just isn't fun whatsoever! Getting grades has never been this hard but I don't know? This year, I just feel like whenever I think I'm finally done – it turns out I've only just begun. With all the exams and projects, and homework assignments – I honestly do miss being able to write and update on a weekly basis but things just haven't been going my way lately. **

**Once again, I'm sorry and I hope you guys can forgive! But anyways I want to give a big shout out to Suzerenma, FloraIrmaTylee, Avril Lambert, and my best friend Demi Brackensick! You guys are the absolute best and I do not know where I would be with my dear reviewers! The same thing goes for my lovely readers, I just love you all! **

**And now without further ado, enjoy chapter 11…**

* * *

Jasmine ran down the street and through an alley as she tried her best to run away from the reality, from the sin of it all. She had kissed him…she had honestly kissed him, and he would never _ever _forget about it!

She leaned against the wall, almost automatically falling into the fetal position as she hugged her knees in front of her chest. She closed her eyes and began to cry out all her emotion, "_Oh God…Aladdin's going to hate me! How am I going to live with myself? John is never going to forget it; he's going to keep on acting like…like it meant something!"_

Jasmine wasn't quite sure herself whether or not it did mean something. She had kissed him, -yes that much was correct. But what had surprised her, the most was that he had kissed back. He had wanted it…they had both wanted it!

She slowly started to wipe the tears from her eyes as she tried her best to take deep breaths. What Aladdin didn't know wouldn't hurt him, and what John would have to forget wouldn't kill him either. The million dollar question was however – could Jasmine truly forget a kiss so passionate and sweet?

"Of course you can," she muttered to herself as she rested her head against the wall "you were just too caught up in the moment to pay attention to any of it. Now if you just calm down, and relax for a minute maybe you could work this out?"

"Jasmine, is that really you?"

The dark-haired girl looked up; gasping at the figure she saw only a few feet away. She stood up, her jaw remained dropped as she pulled the woman into a warm hug, "Oh my God…Aurora, you're here…"

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

Rapunzel gasped as she felt her beloved roll off of her. She turned her head to the side, her face red as a tomato as she tried her best to control her breathing pattern. A faint smile graced her features as she felt him place a kiss on her cheek, "I love you Eugene."

"Love you too blondie," Eugene scooted closer as he draped the blanket over their nude body "this was…this was amazing."

"It was," she confessed with a slight giggle as she rested her head on his bare chest "I mean it isn't every day you make love with the person you love the most. We really should do this more often."

He couldn't help but laugh at how sweet his wife was. No matter what they were doing, may it holding hands by the sea or making love on their bed – she always managed to add her own innocent touch to things, "Yeah…we really should."

Without any hesitation Rapunzel quickly stole a kiss, making sure her kiss was soft yet left a certain permanent print to it. She looked up with a smile, watching as placed his hand on his cheek and that's when she knew – her kisses were like magic. And when they kissed each other, their magic exploded into a million floating lanterns.

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

"Alright - now you tell me," Megara laughed as she rested her head against her boyfriend's chest "what were you doing while I was off rescuing werewolves?"

"I," Hercules started with a bit of a chuckle as he continued to make his way through the woods "just went off exploring for a little. I didn't really meet anyone; I just kept on walking and thinking. I did some swimming myself and I almost drowned."

Her face grew a bit serious at the mention of this. She looked up at him with a faintly concern glimmer in her eyes, "You did? And how did that happen?"

"Well me being the genius I am," he started with a bright smile as he held her close "decided to go for a swim in rushing water. I hadn't really predicted to be the current to be strong as it turned out to be, and I almost died. But…that's when I realized something."

"What was that?"

"How much I needed you," Was his response as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead "you're my only reason for going on and I don't want to lose that Meg. I don't want to my reason to go away."

Meg nodded her head, understanding exactly how her other half felt "I know what you mean. The whole time while Adam chased me all I could think about was how, I didn't want to spend another minute without you Herc."

Hercules couldn't help but look down at his lovely girlfriend, and claim her lips in a passionate kiss. He faintly smirked as he felt her wrap her arms around his neck. Their lips crashed together, creating a fire that the both of them longed for since their reunion.

He had just been about to place her down but Meg hastily broke away from the kiss, speaking up before anything else "Herc wait – not here. That wolf could still be around, and I don't feel safe here."

"You're right," he couldn't help but laugh nervously as he carried her through the forests, his cheeks turning a faint red "I guess my mind told me one thing but-"

"Your body told you another," Meg couldn't help but smirk at how good she was at finishing his sentences "I get it Herc. And believe me I'm all for making love, it's just I'd rather not do it in the woods when we're trying to get back home safely."

Hercules nodded his head as he made his way down the path, wondering what on Earth it was he did to deserve such a wonderful person like is girlfriend. And in a few days' time, it would just be the two of them…together forever…

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

Ariel swam to the surface in a hurry, there were tears in her eyes and the water couldn't have felt more polluted. At one point – the pristine sea had been her home, and now it was nothing more than a shattered memory.

Once she resurfaced, she made her way over to a rock and she hoisted herself up in order to take refuge on the small piece of land. She sat down, staring over at the sun which was near the horizon "I'm so sorry Daddy, I'm so sorry that I ran…I should've stayed…I should've been stronger for you…"

She hugged herself for comfort as the cold wind forcefully tugged on her fiery-red hair. She looked down at her reflection in the water, frowning at how upset she looked. She used her emerald-green tail to slap the water, watching as her reflection became unclear in the ripples of the water.

The sixteen-year old took a deep breath as she glanced up at the sky, and did the one thing she did best – she sang. Even though it wasn't much, singing was the only reason she hadn't gone mad. It was the only thing keeping her sane:

"_Oh, the waves roll low_

_And the waves roll high_

_And so it goes…_

_Under the bright blue_

_Endless Sky_

_Waves try to measure_

_The days that we treasure_

_Wave hello_

_And wave goodbye__…" _Her mother's lullaby had been one of the only song's which gave Ariel hope. The only song in the world that reminded her that anything was possible. That wishful thinking and hopeful dreaming were all just the same.

The sweet red-head took a deep breath, built up her courage and using all the power she had – she gracefully dove into the water. She kept her eyes wide open as she dove, her hair went flying everywhere as she continued to swim deeper into the sea.

Eventually she stopped and caught herself before she came, crashing into the ground. A determined expression graced her features as she clenched her fists and started swimming towards the palace. She was going to do this; she was going to save her kingdom…

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

Vanessa sat down at the dinner table, eating dinner by herself as she waited for her husband's arrival. It had been a whole two hours and he had yet to return. A part of her was worried and a part of her took comfort in this.

She forced both emotions out of her mind as she continued to sadly eat her dinner. She had made soup for two but in all reality, she should have made soup for three "Oh Melody…I am so sorry."

"_You chose him over me!"_

Vanessa could already hear her daughter's voice, and this made her close her eyes as tears started forming within them. How did she get herself into this mess? How did life come down to this? Why did she have to choose between her daughter and her husband, and her unborn child?

""_**S**__he isn't my baby sister and I'm not acting like __**s**__he doesn't exist_."

She shivered at her daughter's voice as their screaming echoed through her head. It gave her a headache, and made her stomach drop as her heart became as heavy as a boulder. Realization hurt but the way it sunk only hurt even worse – she was a bad mother.

Vanessa cupped her face in her hands as she began sobbing. She hadn't meant to choose Gaston over Melody, in retrospect she wouldn't have chosen Melody over Gaston either. At the end of the day the only person who mattered was her unborn child.

"_He never did anything bad," _she still had her mind wrapped around the theory of her child coming out a male. After all Gaston was just so sure it would be a boy, who was she to disagree?

"_Yes – it means that I was a mistake!_"

"No!" Vanessa screamed through tears as she still kept her face hidden behind her cupped hands. She couldn't take it anymore; she just wanted all this madness to end. She just wanted a happy family, that's all she had ever wanted…

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

Jessica Rabbit let out a rather loud moan as she felt her lover roll off of her. She wore a confident smirk as she threw her head back on the bed, her exotic red hair was a mess and yet it still had a certain class to it.

She glanced over at her lover who was staring up at the ceiling with a blank expression, "Something on your mind, handsome?"

Gaston's expression was serious as he shook his head, "Nothing you need to know about. Besides, I didn't come here to talk."

"Of course not," Jessica frowned as she rolled her eyes and sat up on the edge of the bed "you came here to screw and then move on with your life, right?"

He let out an annoyed sigh as he grabbed a hold of her by the hand, and pulled her back down. Before she had the chance to react, he claimed her lips in a passionate kiss as he once again mounted on top of her.

Jessica wanted to just pull away and slap him but her body couldn't help but cave in. Even though she absolutely despised his behavior and attitude, the way he made her body feel was just amazing! He may have been a brute but he was a well-built brute.

Gaston allowed his hands to wonder her body and he smirked as he forced a reluctant moan at her. This only got him a well-deserved slap and in order to get back at her, he forced his way inside of her.

She arched in back, letting out another moan as she let him have his way. Jessica wrapped her legs around his waist, allowing all her pent up anger and frustration disappear as they become one. Even though she'd never admit it – she loved her brute, even if he never was and never would be _her _brute…

_**OoooooooooooooooooooooooO**_

"Jim it's your turn to take out the trash," Tiana reminded him as she tried her best to finish cooking the last few orders "and don't even think about trying to get out of it! I did is yesterday, your mother did it the day before and the day before that – Belle did it."

"I know, I know…believe me Tia I get it," Jim couldn't help but faintly chuckle as he went into the kitchen, picked up the large garbage bag and started heading towards the back exit.

Once he reached the back, he threw it into the pile of all the other garbage bags and things would have gone down without a hitch except…things hadn't.

As Jim started making his way towards the voice, he heard the sound of footsteps. He spun around with a serious expression, and when he saw a figure in the shadows – he froze "_What the hell?"_

The figure in the shadows didn't say anything, all it did was extend its gun from out of the dark and pull the trigger. The bullet instantly hit Jim in the shoulder, sending him back as a loud scream escaped his lips.

Before he had the chance to react, two large arms were wrapped around Jim's waist and the person hoisted him in the air. He frantically swung his legs and fists frantically as he tried to squirm free but nothing worked.

Clayton stepped from out of the shadows, blowing the steam away from his gun as he shot the boy a cocky smirk, "You really should have left her out on the streets while you had the chance."

Sinbad tightened his grip around Jim's waist as the young teen tried his best to fight free. He took out his knife, and held it against Jim's neck. He spoke through gritted teeth as he continued to hold a tight hold on the boy, "Make another move and I'll kill you."

"Come on Sinbad you know we need him alive," Clayton reminded him as he started to make his way down the alley "that being said the last thing we need is for someone to find us."

Jim remained frozen, he didn't dare let out a loud scream or fight back…he remained still as ice. He could hear the frantic screaming; coming from the Inn and he prayed that no one would try to come out and try to find out what had happened.

Sinbad swiftly pressure pointed the boy, watching as he was out cold in just a matter of moments. The ex-pirate quickly followed after Clayton, his expression serious as he held the boy bridal style "Do you honestly think Gaston will kill the kid?"

"That isn't our business," Was Clayton's reply as he continued down the alley "it was our job to bring the boy to Gaston and that's exactly what we're doing. What Gaston does after is all up to him."

"What is Gaston doing right now anyways?"

"Didn't you hear him?" Clayton questioned rhetorically as he went deeper into the dark alley "He had some physical pleasure that needed taking care of. It had been a while since he had paid his whore a visit."

"Of course," Sinbad grimaced in disgust as he shook his head in disapproval "the man has a son on the way and yet he still has the decency to sleep around like it's nothing."

"Just shut up and carry the kid," the man muttered as he held his grip strongly on to the pistol. He was tired and thirsty, and besides what became of the boy wasn't his business. He was just doing his job and that's all it would ever be…

**A/N: And that's a wrap! I hope you guys liked it and once again I apologize for the delay! I've just been crazy busy with school and friends and grades, and homework and exams and family…it's insane. But anyways until next chapter everyone… **


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